BJP workers heckle Delhi CM Kejriwal at official event
New Delhi, Dec 27 : BJP workers Thursday interrupted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by imitating coughing action as he started speaking at an official event here, prompting two Union ministers to intervene.
The action by the BJP workers ridiculing Kejriwal for the bouts of coughing he suffered from till 2016, left the AAP leader in an awkward position at the Vigyan Bhawan event as he asked for some silence from the audience.
The programme was jointly organised by the National Mission for Clean Ganga and the Delhi Jal Board to launch projects to clean the Yamuna River.
It was attended by Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari and Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Minister of State for Water Resources Satyapal Singh, and BJP MPs from Delhi and workers were also present.
The BJP workers started mocking Kejriwal by coughing as he began his speech.
As the heckling became louder, Vardhan and Gadkari asked the workers to stop.
"Please keep quite. This is an official event," Gadkari said.
Kejriwal was known to suffer from chronic coughing during the winters and also underwent a surgery to address the problem in September 2016.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Kejriwal says Delhi polls battle of two ideologies, accuses BJP of giving 'freebies to corporates'
New Delhi (PTI): AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said the assembly election in Delhi was not just a contest for the national capital but the entire country.
The election pits two contrasting ideologies -- one focused on welfare of the general public and the other on benefiting a select group of wealthy individuals -- against each other, he said.
"This election is about deciding how taxpayers' money should be spent. One ideology, represented by the BJP, uses public funds to waive loans worth thousands of crores for its close associates. The other, our AAP model, focuses on providing free electricity, education, health care and transport to benefit the common man," Kejriwal said at a press conference.
Criticising the BJP-led Centre, the former Delhi chief minister alleged that it had waived debts amounting to Rs 10 lakh crore of 400-500 industrialists during the past five years.
"The BJP model gives people's money to its friends as loans and then writes off those loans in two to three years. In contrast, the AAP model provides direct benefits to the public, including welfare schemes worth nearly Rs 25,000 per month for each household in Delhi," he said.
Kejriwal also accused the saffron party of planning to end all welfare schemes initiated by AAP if it gains power in Delhi.
"The BJP has already clarified it will stop free electricity, free bus rides (for women), and other benefits provided by the Delhi government. I ask the people, will they be able to bear this cost if the BJP is elected?" he said.
Kejriwal also lashed out at the BJP for labelling welfare measures as "freebies", alleging that the saffron party was trying to create guilt among the middle class while itself offering massive concessions to big businesses.
"When the BJP waives loans worth thousands of crores for its friends, is that not a freebie?" he asked.
Elections to the 70-member Delhi Assembly will be held on February 5 and the votes counted on February 8.
AAP is seeking a third consecutive term in office while the BJP is attempting to regain power in the national capital for the first time since 1998.
