Only BJP can transform Delhi into world’s best capital: Amit Shah

Union home minister Amit Shah canvassed in Delhi on the final day of campaigning for the Delhi assembly elections on Monday, holding a series of public meetings across the city in which he criticised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over the raft of corruption cases and “unfulfilled promises” made by the Delhi’s ruling party.

Shah said that while the AAP was busy making excuses for not getting any work done, and fighting with the Centre, states with the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) “double-engine” government had progressed rapidly. He contended that only the BJP can turn Delhi into the “world’s best capital”.

“States having a double-engine BJP government have progressed in the last 10 years while Delhi has been left behind... For 10 years the AAP has just been making excuses and fighting [with the central government] like a crybaby. This is their nature. They have not done any work. No matter how much cleverly you speak lies... People of Delhi are now aware of your lies Kejriwal ji,” he said.

“Can Kejriwal make Delhi the world’s best capital? Only the BJP and Narendra Modi can do this,” Shah said in Jangpura, where he was campaigning for BJP candidate Tarvinder Singh Marwah, who is contesting against former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia.

Shah said he lived in Jangpura for 2.5 year and it feels like home whenever he comes here. He called Sisodia the “country’s first education minister who has gone to jail in a liquor case”.

“What did Manish Sisodia do that he had to run away from the Patparganj seat and come here? He made false promises in Patparganj and now he believes he can do the same here but everyone in Delhi is now aware of his deeds,” he added.

“Sisodia ruined the future of Delhi’s children by committing a scam in the name of classrooms. As soon as the BJP government comes, he will have to pay for every penny. The enthusiasm of the people in Jangpura shows that Delhi is going to be ‘AAP-da’ (calamity) free,” he said.

He said that Sisodia will be known for doing one thing as deputy chief minister: “For opening liquor vends near schools, temples and gurdwaras... He has betrayed Patparganj. Bade miyan and chhote miyan have carried on the work to cheat Delhi. Now people will teach them such a lesson that they will never be able to make fake promises.”

Shah addressed two other public meetings on Monday. After Jangpura, he went to Bijwasan to campaign for Kailash Gahlot. He said that nowhere but in Bijwasan has he seen water pipelines hanging like electric wires. “Kejriwal ji, I have not seen an ajooba (wonder) like this. In these pipes, too, he sends polluted water,” Shah said.

Shah said that Kejriwal lied to the people of Delhi and gave them only “garbage, toxic water, and corruption”, blaming the AAP government for poor local infrastructure.

“Water pipes run alongside power lines and half of Delhi floods during rainfall. People are still looking for a world-class drainage system, schools, sports university, and London-like streets that Kejriwal had promised them,” he said.

He also criticised Kejriwal for falsely accusing Haryana of contaminating the Yamuna’s water, calling it an insult to all Haryanvis living in Delhi and neighbouring areas. He also criticised Kejriwal for failing to fulfil his promise of taking a dip in the highly polluted river. “Kejriwal did not take a dip, so the BJP workers dipped his cutout in the river. They found that pollution in the river made the cut-out so sick that it had to be admitted to AIIMS,” Shah said.

Shah promised to clean the Yamuna and develop a riverfront along the lines of the Sabarmati in Ahmedabad, Gujarat within three years and provide free healthcare under the Ayushman Scheme for Delhi residents. He reminded people that Kejriwal had promised not to take official perks such as a house, car, or security before becoming chief minister. “After becoming the chief minister, he got a car, security and a bungalow. Not satisfied with one bungalow, he demolished four and built a ‘sheesh mahal’ on 50,000 gaj (square yard) with designer marble, remote-controlled curtains, motion sensor lights and doors, a golden commode, carpet worth ₹50 crore, a water purifier worth ₹15 crore, and a reclining sofa worth ₹10 lakh,” Shah said.

He said that the BJP’s chief minister will not live in such a bungalow but instead open it for public viewing so that “you know how a ‘sheesh mahal’ looks”, the home minister said at a public meeting in Dwarka. He urged voters to press the “lotus button” on EVMs “so hard that it shatters the glass of Kejriwal’s ‘sheesh mahal’.”