Arvind Kejriwal, the leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), unveiled the party’s 15-point platform for the Delhi Assembly election on Monday. The document is titled “Kejriwal ki guarantee” (Kejriwal’s guarantee), and the promise of youth employment is given top priority.
“The BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), Congress, and other parties make promises during elections, but they are just hollow slogans under different names. When we started using the term ‘guarantee’, they also began using it. But they have devalued the term ‘guarantee’. However, this is Kejriwal’s guarantee, not Modi’s. This is a firm guarantee, not a hollow one like theirs. Today, we are announcing 15 ‘Kejriwal ki guarantees’ which will be fulfilled in the next five years,” Mr. Kejriwal said at a press conference at the party’s headquarters in New Delhi. “As per Central government data, Delhi has the lowest unemployment. National level unemployment is 6% but in Delhi, it is 2%. We wish that there is no one who is unemployed in Delhi. We are making plans to give jobs to every youth in Delhi,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
In the run-up to the Assembly election, the party has declared all 15 of the manifesto’s points over the past 1.5 years, including the “Mahila Samman Yojana” and the “Sanjeevani Yojana.” No fresh assurances have been made. In addition, tenants would receive free water and electricity, priests and granthis will receive ₹18,000 per month, and incorrect water bills will be waived.
The AAP had unveiled their manifesto with a 10-point “Kejriwal ki guarantee” in the lead-up to the 2020 election. Mr. Kejriwal stated earlier this month that he was unable to fulfill three of those commitments; nevertheless, he reaffirmed on Monday that all three had been worked on. “The next three guarantees, we had made in 2020 too. We had said that we would give 24-hour water supply. We had said that we would clean the Yamuna. We had said that we would make roads in Delhi of European standards. But we could not fulfil these three promises. There was the COVID-19 pandemic for two-and-a-half years, and then we were jailed in fake cases. In the next five years, we will fulfil these three promises. We have funds and full plans for them,” the former Delhi Chief Minister said.
Other pledges made in the 2020 manifesto, such as lowering air pollution, installing underground cables to provide electricity to every home, and providing slum dwellers with pucca dwellings, have not been met, though. According to Mr. Kejriwal, the AAP government’s measures are currently saving Delhi families a total of ₹25,000 each month. “If you press the wrong button, if you press the ‘lotus’ (the BJP’s election symbol) button, an additional ₹25,000 per month will be added to each family’s expenses,” he said.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva attacked the AAP, saying that the 15 claims made by Mr. Kejriwal on Monday under the guise of a manifesto were nothing more than empty promises that had never been delivered during the party’s ten-year rule and would never be. Additionally, he challenged Mr. Kejriwal to engage in a debate with any BJP official regarding any of the 15 “false guarantees.”
