The Kejriwal government won the trust vote in the Delhi Assembly through a voice vote on Saturday. CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal had tabled a motion of confidence in the House on Friday in response to ‘Operation Lotus’, which was discussed today. During this, the CM saluted all the MLAs for standing together firmly and said that the biggest contender against the BJP in this country is the Aam Aadmi Party. They fear a threat to their future only from ‘AAP’. That is why these people want to crush us in any way they can. The CM said that if the BJP does not lose the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, then in the 2029 elections, the Aam Aadmi Party will liberate this country from the BJP. It is a dream of the BJP people to arrest me. They may arrest me, but how will they arrest the blessings of crores of people? He said that today there is a politics of sin and a politics of virtue going on in the country. Now the people of this country have to decide whether they want the politics of sin or the politics of virtue.
While addressing the assembly, Delhi CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal said, “We have the majority in the house. And I briefed you yesterday about the necessity of bringing the ‘Confidence-Motion’. Yesterday, while moving the proposal, I informed the house that 2 of our MLAs came to me and said that the BJP approached them with their offer. The MLAs said that they (BJP) said that Kejriwal is going to be arrested and after that they will topple the AAP government, defecting all the AAP MLAs. 21 MLAs are in their contact and others are also being approached, you should also join the BJP. We will give you ₹25 crores and more if demanded and will give election tickets as well.”
The Delhi CM continued, “After this, we contacted all the MLAs and found out that they contacted only 7 MLAs, not 21. Today many MLAs have narrated their incidents and informed the house that they had been approached. They (BJP) ask for evidence, what kind of evidence do we present? Sometimes they approach the MLAs through friends, relatives, etc. They say join us; we’ll schedule your meeting with Amit Shah. Any person doesn’t carry tape recorders with themselves all the time, so what kind of proof should we give?”
“For many days they have been thinking that they’ll arrest Kejriwal, and the AAP will be finished. They can imprison Kejriwal, but how will they imprison Kejriwal’s ideology? If they arrest one Kejriwal, then 1 lakh will be born from Bharat Mata’s (Mother India) womb,” the AAP National Convenor said.
CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal further added that the extent to which they have attacked the AAP, imprisoning our leaders, obstructing our work at every turn, and threatening us, is being witnessed by every child in the country. Everyone is watching this. They think that the people are fools, then they’re mistaken. Now, in the parks, the people are discussing what has been happening. The people are asking whether Modi Ji intends to eliminate, crush Kejriwal. Every child in the country is asking this question, the way they have attacked the AAP. “They have arrested numerous AAP leaders, including our second, third, and fourth in command, and now they are threatening to apprehend the top leader. Such an attack on any political party has never been witnessed anywhere in the world.”
The AAP National Convenor conveyed, “Why is this happening, because today the AAP is the biggest challenger to the BJP in the country. If the BJP’s future is in jeopardy, it’s because of the AAP only. That’s why the BJP intends to crush the AAP by hook or crook. I want to state, with full responsibility and without any arrogance, that if the BJP doesn’t lose the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, then in 2029, the AAP will liberate the country from the BJP.”
“This is no small feat that just 12-year-old party, a 12-year-old kid, has defeated the big parties of the country. In this country, 1300 parties are registered, among them the AAP was registered on 26th November 2012. Within 10 years, the AAP has become the 3rd biggest party in the country. To become an MLA, many people have to struggle, and their entire lives pass by. It is no coincidence that in such a short time, today this party has a majority government in two states. Out of 70 seats in Delhi, 67 seats have never been won by any party in history. Similarly, out of 117 seats in Punjab, 92 seats have never been won by anyone in Punjab’s history. We contested elections for the first time in Gujarat, and with our 14% votes, we won five seats. We contested elections for the first time in Goa, and today we have two MLAs there as well. This is not a small thing,” the Delhi CM said.
CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal shared that everyone saw how they deceitfully snatched the mayor’s post from us in Chandigarh. And today, after just 12 years, the AAP has become a national party. Therefore, today they have the fear and danger of the future only from the AAP. Today there is also discussion among the people that these people are after the AAP because they cannot digest the defeat of Delhi.
“In May 2014, Modi Ji came to power at the centre with a landslide victory. After that, they won Haryana and Maharashtra, and it seemed like the horse of an ‘Ashwamedha Yagya’ (victory chariot) was running. It seemed like no one could stop this horse. But in 2015, when this horse reached Delhi, the two crore people of Delhi stopped it. Not only did the people of Delhi stop their ‘Ashwamedha Yagya’, but also the BJP was confined to just three seats out of 70, and the AAP won 67 seats. The public believes that these people have resolved since then to crush the AAP in any way possible,” he added.
Shri Arvind Kejriwal expressed, “It has often been seen that many new parties emerge from movements, are formed, and end in just one election. Similarly, they also hoped that after one election, they would trouble the AAP so much that the AAP would also come to an end. After coming to power, they troubled us a lot and didn’t let us work. After five years, they hoped that now in 2020, they would not let our government be formed. In 2020, again the AAP won 62 out of 70 seats, and the BJP was confined to just 8 seats. In 2019, they came to power at the centre with a heavy majority of 303 seats, but when they came to Delhi, they lost. Therefore, they are unable to digest the defeat of Delhi. They did everything to stop us, leaving no stone unturned. Their biggest concern is that the kind of work the AAP government is doing, they have no counter to it.”
“What we are doing, these people cannot do. First, we provided 24-hour and free electricity in Delhi and Punjab. I challenge the BJP to demonstrate in any state where they have been in power, for 30 years in Gujarat, for 15 years in MP, or for 10 years in UP, that they have provided free and 24-hour electricity. In BJP-ruled states, power cuts last for hours and electricity is very expensive. We made power cuts zero in Punjab within a year. There are zero power cuts in Delhi too. After Delhi, work is underway to transform government schools in Punjab,” the CM said.
Shri Arvind Kejriwal stated people from all over the world are coming to see these magnificent schools. Today, Delhi is known worldwide for education. The wife of the American President attended the Happiness Curriculum class in our school. Delhi has illuminated the name of the country worldwide. Meanwhile, see the pitiable condition of government schools in BJP-ruled Gujarat, MP, and UP, animals roam there, and walls are broken. They have plunged the future of countless poor children into darkness. The BJP is challenged to make just 10 government schools good like Delhi in Gujarat. In 30 years, these people have not even made one school right in Gujarat. They cannot do this work, that’s why they are troubled by ‘AAP’.
The Delhi CM said, “We have built excellent hospitals in Delhi and provided free treatment to everyone. We have set up Mohalla Clinics, and people are getting treatment in every street. These people should also show some good work by drawing a long line. We have started a pilgrimage scheme for the elderly. The elderly bless us a lot. All the work of Delhi is also happening in Punjab. So far, 540 Mohalla Clinics have been built in Delhi, while in Punjab, more than 800 have been built in a year. We made travel buses free for women. They opposed it a lot, but all the women are with us. We have provided water to every corner of Delhi and made it free. They did the most politics over the unauthorized colonies, but we only did the work. We laid roads, water, and sewer lines in Delhi’s unauthorized colonies.”
“Our government has been in Punjab for only two years. A very big revolution is coming in Punjab currently. Water for irrigation has reached every village. Where people used to not get water for irrigation before. We know how to do all the work, learn from us. They will not learn from us and will not let us work either. We have started door-to-step delivery of services in Delhi-Punjab. Now there is no need to go to government offices to get your work done. Now make a call and government officials will come to your house and get the work done. They did not allow us to start door-to-door delivery of ration in Delhi. We wanted to deliver rations to every household. Since they did not allow it in Delhi, we implemented it in Punjab. Just 10 days ago, I inaugurated this scheme. We are changing the system, doing a very big job. When they saw the work Kejriwal is doing, they could not do it. Neither can they build schools, and hospitals, provide electricity, water, and irrigation work, nor do they want to. They just want to earn money. That is why they started the work of stopping our work,” he added.
CM Arvind Kejriwal, expressing his anguish, said that last year, they stopped medicines in Delhi’s government hospitals. A poor and helpless person comes to government hospitals for treatment. A poor person cannot get treatment in a five-star private hospital. “We made hospitals excellent, arranging all facilities including medicines. But they scared and threatened officers and got the medicines in government hospitals stopped. They stopped tests in Mohalla Clinics, and for 3 months last year, patients could not get tested. They stopped payment for the lab; these people are so petty and despicable,” he added.
“They call themselves devotees of Lord Ram. Lord Ram never said to stop medicines for the poor. These people will be cursed by the poor. This is not okay. If they have enmity with Kejriwal, why are they taking revenge on Delhi’s 2 crore people? They removed data operators working on contracts in hospitals. There is no one left to register patients coming to the hospitals. Do these people want to harm the people of Delhi? We started the ‘Farishtey Scheme’ so that if there is a road accident inside Delhi, the treatment will be free. So far, under the Farishtey scheme, we have saved the lives of more than 23,000 people. These people are so nasty that they also stopped the Farishtey scheme. When I see all this, my heart cries. One day, I will write about how low-level work the BJP people have done. To gain power, will these people to any extent, do anything?” The Delhi CM mentioned.
CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal said that people will think Kejriwal is lying. Because the government is ours, then how can these people stop the work? The service department of the Delhi government is with them, meaning they have control over the transfer and posting of officers. Where to place which officer, where to remove from. Action against which officer is to be taken. If any officer commits corruption, then disciplinary action against him, vigilance inquiry, or sending to jail, everything is with them. They have complete control over bureaucracy, staff, and employees. Today, if the tea-serving peon tells me that I won’t serve you tea, then even being the Chief Minister, I cannot transfer him, because I don’t have that much power.
The Supreme Court had ordered that such a government cannot be run, the Chief Minister would have control over the officers. They brought a law and overturned the Supreme Court’s order that it would not be the Chief Minister’s, but the LG’s, meaning the control of the central government. Now these people are calling each IAS officer and threatening that if they do any work for this government and minister, then we will send them to jail, suspend them, file false cases against them, and involve the ED-CBI. A 56-year-old officer came to him crying. “The officer told me that in his entire career, he had never seen such an environment where he was threatened openly,” said the chief minister in the House.
Shri Kejriwal said they have created a water crisis and sewerage problem in the entire Delhi. “How? You people passed the budget sitting in this entire assembly. Last year, you said the budget of the Delhi Jal Board would be Rs 5000 crore. These people took all that money and sat over it. The Finance Department is not giving money to the Jal Board. The Jal Board has not received money for six months. How will the Jal Board run? There was no money left even for small repairs. The Water Board did not even have money left for repairs,” he said.
The chief minister said the Principal Secretary of the finance department is being threatened, beware if you give money. “They want to destroy Delhi. Sewer water is flowing everywhere, there is a water crisis. Ultimately Saurabh Bhardwaj (Urban Development Minister) and Atishi (Finance Minister) together filed a case in the (Delhi) High Court and the High Court ordered the release of the money immediately. The next hearing is on 29th February, they have not done it yet. Neither do they (BJP) believe in the Supreme Court nor do they believe in the High Court,” he said.
Referring to the one-time settlement scheme for water bill arrears, Shri Kejriwal said, “Now they have created another crisis. The condition of water bills is very bad. Unreasonable bills are coming. We proposed that we will take the two or three correct bills (as per consumer consumption) in the last few years, calculate their average and fix the bills accordingly. We made a proposal and sent it to the officers to implement it. The officers wrote on the file that they would not do it. When we asked them, the officers said that they (BJP) are threatening them that they (the officers) will lose their jobs and will be put in jail if the proposal is passed. But Kejriwal will ensure that the proposal is passed.”
Shri Kejriwal said that they (BJP) had tried to stop the electricity subsidy last year. “These people have created a lot of drama since last year. Sometimes the directors of electricity companies were removed, and the electricity subsidy was stopped. They knew that a lot of people are affected by electricity subsidies. But I didn’t let it happen.”
The chief minister said that his government has been able to overcome the hurdles put by the BJP with the blessings of Delhiites. “We are very small people, there will be only two or four of us (MLAs) here with political backgrounds. I used to roam the streets of Sundar Nagri in Delhi, no one cared for us. I used to run an NGO named Parivartan. You people were also running your lives away from politics. Suddenly, people picked us up from there and we don’t know whether it was their love, our destiny or God wanted us to do something that brought us here. Now such big conspiracies are going on against us, but we are firmly sitting here and these people are not able to do anything. Because the prayers of crores of people are with us. Ask the parents of 18 lakh children who study in government schools in Delhi who give so many blessings that we have made the future of their children. Their blessings are with us,” he said.
Shri Kejriwal said lakhs and crores of people were treated for free in hospitals and mohalla clinics and their prayers are with us and those who made people suffer by stopping the supply of medicines and treatment to poor people are being cursed. “Bad wishes will not stop following you. Those who got so many people treated under the Farishtey Scheme (the Delhi government’s scheme for road accident victims), their prayers and blessings are with us. How will you stop their blessings for us? You can arrest Kejriwal, but how will you arrest the prayers of the people,” he said.
Shri Kejriwal said despite various attempts made by the BJP to entice or threaten his party MLAs, his flock is intact. “They have done many Operation Lotus till now, but why are these people not able to break us, why are they not able to buy us, because we have not done anything wrong? In other states, some leaders had done wrong things, hence they wanted the protection of the BJP, hence they left their party and went with BJP. So remember a formula, if a person comes under pressure from the BJP and joins the BJP, then he is a thief; and if a person does not join the BJP despite pressure from BJP, no matter how much ED and CBI put him in jail, he is brutally honest,” he said.
Shri Kejriwal said that despite a lot of pressure and enticement, Manish Sisodia did not break away. “They openly told Manish Sisodia to leave Kejriwal’s party, they will topple Kejriwal’s government and make him the Chief Minister. He (Sisodia) said that he neither wanted to become the Chief Minister nor had he done anything wrong. He told them that they could keep him in jail for a year, two years or three years but ultimately, he would come out. He told them he has not done anything wrong, why should he break away,” said the chief minister in the House.
Shri Kejriwal thanked all his MLAs for not yielding. “They approached all of you and so many people. I salute you all, what amazing people you are, you remained firm. And to all the 61 MLAs of Delhi, you all are my strength due to which I am able to compete with these people today. If any of you had broken, my government would have also fallen but you did not yield, you are my strength,” he said.
The chief minister said that the BJP alleges scams in every Delhi government scheme but does not account for the money that it spends on buying MLAs in various states to topple the elected governments there. “They tell everyone to join the BJP and they left no stone unturned to defame us. Now tell me such a big list of scams: there was a scam in DTC, there was a scam in the classroom, there was a scam in water, there was a scam in electricity, there was a scam in the ration, and there was a scam in the button too. I want to know one thing, how many MLAs have you bought to date in the entire country, how much money did you spend and where did that money come from, please tell me. Tell me honestly, from where do you get so much money to buy MLAs in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Goa? It is openly known that these people were being given Rs 25-25 crores, then where is this money coming from? You are looking for a scam in our button which is worth ₹12. You are buying MLA for Rs 50-50 crores, tell the people of this country where this money is coming from,” he said.
Recalling the incidents in which some people misbehaved with him at the behest of the BJP, Shri Kejriwal said now they aim to arrest me, “Initially in three years, they used to throw ink on me wherever I went. I bore the insult. Then they attacked me, slapped me, put chilli in my office, hit me with a shoe, and now they are saying that they will arrest me. Do you think that by arresting me, the government will fall, these people will break away? Arrest me, try that as well. Till now, they have stopped the work in Delhi, set up the Shunglu Commission, changed the laws, and tried everything. You only have one dream left and try to fulfil it by arresting Kejriwal.”
The chief minister said so many people have been raided at will with utter disregard for the rule of law or constitution, but nothing has been found. “They raided Manish Sisodia’s place, raided the places of many MLAs, raided Satyendar Jain’s place, Sanjay Singh’s place, not a single penny was found. Our wealth lies in the hearts of people, not in bank accounts,” he said.
Comparing the functioning of the BJP-ruled Central government and the AAP government in Delhi, Shri Kejriwal said, “Two incidents happened in 2014-15. In May 2014, a single-party government was formed at the Center to which the people gave an overwhelming majority and in February 2015, a single-party government was formed in Delhi to which the people gave an unprecedented majority. From there, two types of politics were born: the government that was formed at the Centre and the government that was formed in Delhi. Today, it has been 10 years since both governments were in power. There is a central government which has not done any work in 10 years and now they only want to get votes. How? Arrest the Congress leaders, freeze the account of the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party. Arrest the leaders, unleash ED after everyone, crush all the opposition, and put all the leaders in jail. This is how they want to get votes. The second politics was the politics of Delhi, under which we built schools, built hospitals, treated people, educated people’s children, and made arrangements for water and electricity. We won the hearts of 2 crore people, so we are asking for votes. One is the politics of sin, and the other is the politics of virtue. People have to decide whether this country needs politics of sin or politics of virtue,” he said.
Shri Kejriwal said whether Delhi continues to have an assembly or not, his party will continue to work for the welfare of the people of Delhi. “Now these days, these people have spread a big rumour that once these Lok Sabha elections are over, they will change the Constitution and make Delhi a full union territory. Will abolish the Legislative Assembly. Is this someone’s father’s property that they will abolish the Legislative Assembly,” he said.
The chief minister dared the BJP to go to people with this issue. “Today I want to know from the BJP that this election should be held on this issue, go and ask for votes from the people of Delhi, tell them that we will take away your right to vote, vote for us. Today the BJP should make it clear whether it will dissolve the Delhi Assembly after the Lok Sabha or not. Elections should be held today on this issue. You (MLAs) also go to every street and tell people that if you vote for the BJP, then the BJP is going to snatch your right to vote. The BJP is speaking openly, and we challenge the BJP that if it has the courage, then it should scrap the assembly. Whether they scrap the assembly or not, we have not come here for power. We have come here to serve, we will continue to work. Whether we are MLA or not, minister or not, Chief Minister or not, Legislative Assembly or not, we have sacrificed our entire life for the country and service,” he said.
Shri Kejriwal said that the BJP is against Kejriwal and it wants to crush him and his politics. “I also want to tell the people of Delhi that they have problems with your son. You gave me a lot. The people of Delhi gave such a big responsibility to a man by picking him up from the streets of Sunder Nagari. These people have a problem with your son, they want to crush your son, want to eliminate your son. But don’t worry, I am with you, I will keep fighting for you till my death. Even if they dissolve this assembly of mine, they may continue conspiring as much as they want, whether in power or outside power, my life is for you people. I cannot repay your favour even in seven births,” he said.
The chief minister said that the BJP people have come into politics for power. “For them, it is a fight for power, for us it is a fight for service. They will hatch a lot of conspiracies. They will try to crush us again and again by using power, and we will stand up again with the blessings of the people. To come out of the maze of their deceit, we have not just one but 100 Abhimanyus within the party, we will come out after passing through many more mazes than they create,” he said.
The chief minister said, “I fully support the trust motion tabled yesterday and explained in a very good way why there was a need to bring it here. Let me tell you some numbers that not even a single MLA of our party broke away. We have in total 62 MLAs. Presently, there are 54 present in the assembly, two are ill, three are out of station, two are in jail _ Satyendar Jain and Manish Sisodia _ and one is busy with a wedding in the family.”
Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel declared the trust motion presented by the Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal won by the government after a voice vote.
