Delhi Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal spoke out strongly against corruption in politics, on Sunday as he left for CBI headquarters. The CM had recently received a summon from the investigative agency and was called for questioning today in the alleged excise policy case. CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal stated that India could have become the No.1 country in the world, but due to the corrupt practices of politicians, it has been prevented from achieving this goal. He also spoke about the threats he has been receiving from powerful individuals, who have become very arrogant and are threatening everyone with imprisonment. He emphasised that arresting him would not solve the country’s problems like unemployment and illiteracy, but would only satisfy the ego of those in power.
The CM also expressed his love for the country and stated that he would even give his life for the nation. He also stated that he would honestly answer all questions posed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, as he has nothing to hide. As a former Income Tax officer, he declared that if he wanted, he could have earned crores of rupees. He challenged those who accused him of corruption, saying that if he is corrupt, then no one is honest. Shri Arvind Kejriwal also pointed out the disparity in progress between Delhi and Gujarat, and criticised the Prime Minister for neglecting the needs of the country in favour of maintaining his own power.
Delhi CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal addressed the nation via a video message on Sunday. He said that he would go to the CBI headquarters at the scheduled time and answer all the questions of the central agency with truth. He asserted that as he has done no wrong, he has nothing to hide from the CBI.
The Delhi CM, however, revealed the original intentions of the BJP behind summoning him to the CBI Headquarter and said that the Central Government is very powerful and can send anyone to jail, irrespective of whether the person has done anything wrong or not. “Since yesterday all the BJP leaders on TV have been saying that “Kejriwal will be arrested”. Perhaps, this is what the Central Government has told the CBI to do. If the BJP has indeed asked the CBI to arrest me, then what can the CBI really do besides following their instructions,” he said.
Shri Arvind Kejriwal hit out at the BJP-led Central Government and said that it has become very egoistic. He added that the BJP leaders will do absolutely anything to remain in power. “They have stopped caring about the rights of our citizens, and believe that they can arrest anyone and put them in jail. The BJP leaders go around threatening judges, mediapersons, activists, businessmen and industrialists by saying that “listen to what we have said, otherwise you will be the next to be sent to jail”,” he said.
The CM said that he loves his country very much and added that he is “ready to go to jail for it” and also “give his life for the country, if necessary”. “I entered politics 10 years ago and at that time I always wondered why our country was so poor and backward. I wondered why the citizens of my country are poor and uneducated and dealing with the problems of unemployment. It is now that I have found out the answer to my question. Unfortunately, most leaders in our country are not bothered about the people and all they care about is doing dirty politics 24 hours a day. All they want to do is threaten every person who does not subscribe to their ideology,” he said.
He hit out at the BJP for threatening to send him to jail and asked what purpose this would serve. He asked whether the problems faced by India could be solved by sending him to jail. “Will sending me to jail reduce inflation or provide employment to the people? It won’t. But yes, the only thing that will be satisfied by putting Kejriwal in jail will be that big ego that the BJP has,” he said.
Shri Arvind Kejriwal further hit out at the BJP by saying that in the last 8 years, he has fixed all the government schools of Delhi, but in its 30 year tenure in Gujarat, the BJP has not even been able to fix one single school. “When before the election, the PM wanted to get himself photographed inside a school, the BJP could not find one single school in the entire state to do that. Eventually a “model school” had to be constructed inside a tent for the PM’s photo to be clicked,” he said.
The Delhi CM added that in the last 8 years he has managed to open several Mohalla Clinics across the National Capital and construct several government hospitals as well. He asked why none of this could be done in Madhya Pradesh in the last 15 years under the BJP regime. He added that in the last 8 years, the electricity issues that were earlier faced by the residents of Delhi have been fixed and said that there is free electricity and 24 hours electric supply for all citizens. He asked why this could not be done in Gujarat over the last 30 years. He said that all of this was because the BJP was never interested in solving the issues faced by the people. The political party is only interested in staying in power “by hook or by crook”.
Shri Arvind Kejriwal said that India has all the potential required to become the No 1 country in the world, but it is the politicians who did not let the country advance. He said that the politicians were more interested in filling their pockets than thinking about the development of the country.
But he further said that looking at the growth in Delhi over the last decade, the citizens in the rest of the country now also want development in their states. “The youth of this nation are impatient now and they will not stop at anything short of India being developed as the No 1 country in the world. Irrespective of what the political parties that are against the nation want to do, the youth is now impatient to bring development into India. It is a personal mission for me to Make India No 1. For this I’m also willing to go to jail if required,” he said.
The Delhi CM said that he is a patient of diabetes and his body requires more than 50 units of insulin every day. He said that despite his health conditions, in the past he has fasted for the betterment of India twice – for a period of 10 days once and for a period of 15 days the other time. He said that all the doctors at the time had advised him against it. But yet nothing happened to him, and this is because God is with him.
Hitting out at the BJP for calling him corrupt, he said that he was an Income Tax Commissioner before entering politics and could have earned “in crores” if he wanted to be corrupt. He said that he would not have left his job to work with an NGO in the jhuggis of Delhi if he was really corrupt.
Addressing the Prime Minister of India, Shri Arvind Kejriwal said, “PM sir, remember if Kejriwal is corrupt then no person in this world will be innocent. Kejriwal lives for the betterment of the country and he will also die for the country. You can call me to the CBI Headquarters a hundred times and each time I will go there. You can trouble the citizens of India, but now you cannot stop them. India will be the No 1 country in this world and no force can stop it now,” he concluded.
