‘If this time Modi is not defeated, democracy will not survive, the constitution will not survive, this country will not survive,’ affirmed the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister, Shri Arvind Kejriwal, in a town hall meeting with traders and industrialists in Punjab, urging support for AAP candidates on Sunday.
The AAP Supremo warned that India’s democracy and constitution are at risk under PM Modi’s regime, highlighting the Punjab Governor’s obstruction of public interest bills in Punjab assembly as evidence of central dictatorship. He emphasized the need for unity and pledged that if given 13 MPs, CM Bhagwant Mann would have the strength to confront the Center. Shri Kejriwal also emphasized the vital role of traders and industrialists in the economy, noting Punjab’s AAP government’s efforts to remove obstacles and attract foreign investment to Punjab.
During the Town Hall meeting, AAP National Convenor and Delhi CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal said that PM Modi calls the ‘aadhtee’ (commission agents) and traders, ‘Bicholiya’ (middlemen). But we consider you the backbone of the economy of Punjab and the country. If our traders and industrialists are not there, then our country cannot move forward even for 2 minutes. While farmers and laborers are important for the economy of our country, traders and industrialists are equally important. We consider you so important for Punjab.
The AAP Supremo further added, “Ayear ago, CM Bhagwant Mann and I had several ‘Milni’ (meetings) with traders in Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Mohali. We had meetings with traders and industrialists of every city for 3-3 hours and understood their problems. After this, CM Bhagwant Mann went to Hoshiarpur, Dasuya, Dinanagar, Patiala, Moga and Pathankot and met with the traders. Work has started on many of the issues that came up during this time and work is still going on on many.”
Shri Arvind Kejriwal continued, stating that it has been just 2 years since our government was formed in Punjab. Earlier, the condition of business and industry in Punjab was so bad that the industries here were leaving Punjab and going to Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and all the surrounding states. Within the last 2 years, this trend of leaving Punjab has ended and the process of industries coming to Punjab has started. In the last 2 years, CM Bhagwant Mann himself went around the country and talked to the owners of the industries.
“Today, big industries worth ₹56,000 crores have started investing in Punjab. No MoUs were signed, nothing is fake. They bought the land, broke a coconut and the construction of the factory started. An investment of ₹56,000 crores within 2 years is not a small thing. This much has not happened in any other state. After Jamshedpur, the biggest plant of Tata Steel is now being set up in Punjab. Many investments from Germany and Netherlands are going to happen in Punjab,” he added.
The AAP National Convenor mentioned that whenever a company comes, it checks whether the law and order situation is good here? Before our government, the law and order situation in Punjab was very bad. Today there is peace in Punjab, there is a lot of improvement in law and order. I will not say that everything is 100% fine. A lot more needs to be done, we will do it. But such big industries are coming, which means that there is a lot of improvement. The second thing that the company sees is how much time it takes for our issues to be resolved with the government. Now everyone has started trusting that many government works are being done very fast. The process of getting a license and NOC for business and industry from the government has started happening very fast. There is a lot more work to be done, which we need to do.
“They had created so much mess in the 75 years before us, when we took over the government, the condition of business and industry was so bad. In these 2 years, we have stopped the situation from getting worse. And gradually the situation has started getting better,” he added.
Shri Arvind Kejriwal expressed, “You people have strengthened our hands by giving us 92 out of 117 seats in the assembly elections. As a result of that, we are able to do a lot of work in this state. We made domestic electricity free in Punjab. 83% of the people are getting free electricity at home today. No one could have thought that this is possible in the history of India. In just 2 years, people in Delhi and Punjab are getting this free electricity. They used to say that everything is running at a loss. We also have the same budget, we never imposed tax on you people. On the contrary, we have given concessions to you people by implementing OTS. Because we have stopped dishonesty and corruption. Money started getting saved due to that. Now Mohalla Clinics are opening at many places. Many great schools are being built. 2 years are nothing; yet in 2 years, we have shown that with the power you gave us in the state, we are doing very good work.”
The AAP Supremo requested the traders to strengthen their hands in the Lok Sabha elections. “We had only one MP in the Lok Sabha. If you give all the 13 seats of Punjab to the Aam Aadmi Party, then our hands will be strengthened in the central government. We will have to fight the central government for the issue of your Cantonment Board. We need power in the central government. If you strengthen our hands in the central government, then all these issues will be resolved,” he said.
You elected the AAP government in the assembly, laws are passed from the assembly, but the governor sits on your laws. Then what is the benefit? If you give us 13 MPs, the governor will not dare to stop your bills. These 13 MPs will sit on a hunger strike in front of the governor’s house. The central government is sitting on your ₹8,000 crores. The central government is sitting on ₹5,500 crores of the (RDF) rural development fund. How did they dare? This is the right of the people of Punjab. It is your right, you are not begging from the central government.
“With this ₹5,500 crore rupees, life-saving roads were to be built from Mandi to every village. They stopped the money of the National Health Mission, with that, Mohalla Clinics were to be built. They got the courage because there is no MP for us in the Lok Sabha. When we talk to the central government, we are weak. Strengthen our hands. If you strengthen our hands, if you give us all these 13 MPs, then the central government will not dare not interfere in the matters of Punjab,” Shri Arvind Kejriwal stated.
The AAP Supremo mentioned, “There are many other issues. You all are business persons of Punjab, you would understand. Punjab is a landlocked area. You have to import and sell your goods, let’s say you have to export. How much distance do you have to travel, sometimes you even have to go to the ports to get your goods. You need the support of the Central government for these things. We have our own thermal power plants. Punjab has its own coal mine in Odisha. When we wanted to bring coal to Punjab from Odisha from our own coal mine, the central government said that from Odisha we will have to go to Sri Lanka and Gujarat and then to Punjab. Does that make any sense? This is clearly bullying and high-handedness. If we would have agreed with their condition, electricity would have become more expensive by ₹2 per unit instead of becoming cheaper.”
“CM Bhagwant Mann had to fight with the central government, then only we were given a direct train from Odisha to Punjab. Now coal from Puri comes directly to Punjab and through this we make your domestic electricity cheaper. But as of now CM Bhagwant Mann is fighting alone with the central government. But how many battles will a single man fight? If you elect our 13 MPs, then imagine that Bhagwant Mann will have 13 hands. These 13 MPs will go and fight with the central government for your rights and the issues of our Punjab will start getting solved,” He added.
The AAP National Convenor stated that there is another important thing. Today, I have come amongst you people to appeal to the people of my country to save our country. The people of Punjab played the biggest role in the fight for independence. Even today, the sacrifice of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh is considered the greatest sacrifice in history. The people of Punjab have made the biggest sacrifices to liberate the country. Today our country’s freedom, our country’s democracy, and our country’s constitution are in great danger.
“Let’s go back to the way I was arrested. Elections were declared on 16 March and they arrested me on 21 March. They had already arrested Sanjay Singh, Manish Sisodia, and Satyendar Jain before me, so all four of us were arrested. And after all this, PM Narendra Modi is saying that ‘come, let’s contest the elections.’ They have arrested 4 of our big leaders, how do we contest elections then?” he questioned.
The AAP Chief stated that in Maharashtra, PM Narendra Modi broke the NCP into two pieces, took away their party and its symbol. The same thing was done with Shiv Sena also. Shri Hemant Soren (former Jharkhand CM) was arrested right before the elections and they are saying ‘come, lets contest elections’.
“This is exactly what happened in Pakistan, they arrested Imran Khan, took away his party and symbol. And after that elections were held and those who conspired against him, won. Everyone knows that if Imran Khan was out of jail, then his party would have won, everyone knows this. In Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina put all the opposition in jail, then conducted elections and she won. In Russia, (Vladimir) Putin either put his opponents in jail or got them killed, after which he also won the elections, that too with 87% votes. There is blatant dictatorship prevailing now in our country too. During this Lok Sabha election only, so many parties were broken and toppled, so many leaders were put in jail. If this time Modi is not defeated, democracy will not survive, the constitution will not survive, this country will not survive. And in this fight, the people of Punjab have to play the most important role,” the AAP National Convenor affirmed.
Shri Arvind Kejriwal said the people of Punjab need to play a leading role in this. Today I have not come for myself. I have come to appeal to you people to save the country. What is this? If the governor stops the bills of the government that won with such a huge majority, you gave 92 seats out of 117, then this is an attack on democracy, he is trying to stop (bring to an end) democracy, he is trying to stop (finish) the public. “How dare the governor stop the bills passed by the public. If the central government stops your fund of Rs 8500 crore, this is an attack on the public, an attack on democracy. You people will have to raise your voice against this, the country is moving towards dictatorship. We will eat one less meal but cannot tolerate dictatorship. We will have to make sacrifices, but we cannot tolerate dictatorship,” he said.
Condemning the BJP for equating Narendra Modi with God, the AAP National Convenor said look at the state of their arrogance. You all know that the biggest temple in Puri is of Lord Jagannath. Lord Jagannath means the Lord of the world, the Lord of the universe. Just a few days ago in Puri, Bharatiya Janata Party national spokesperson, Sambit Patra, said that Lord Jagannath is a devotee of Modi ji. They (BJP) have started considering themselves bigger than God. They have now started saying openly that God is a devotee of Modi ji. Their slogan is, we will bring the one who brought Ram. We say that God has brought us on this earth, Ramchandra ji has brought us. They are saying that we have brought God. They have become so arrogant that they have become the ones who have brought God. They have become the ones who have brought God on this earth. We say that God brought us on earth, God created this whole universe, God created this universe.
“Now they are saying that Modi ji created this universe. They will have to answer for this arrogance. Now they consider the common people as cats and dogs, they do not consider the common people as humans. If they come back for the third term, they will change the constitution. And first of all, they will end your reservation. From the beginning RSS and BJP and their allied organizations have been against reservation. They will end your reservation,” he said.
Shri Arvind Kejriwal said, “I have not come for myself but to appeal to save this country and to request you to strengthen the hands of Mann Sahab, strengthen the hands of Mann Sahab’s government so that together we can ensure the progress of Punjab and save the country.”
