Ahmedabad:
The Gujarat poll campaign today saw a fight over dreams — who sells them, should people buy them, and whose will never be fulfilled. Union Home Minister Amit Shah dealt the first blow, saying, “Those doing the business of dreams will not succeed in Gujarat,” at which AAP boss Arvind Kejriwal jibed back: “Yes, he is absolutely right. Do not, at all, trust those who said they’ll give your Rs 15 lakh each by bringing back black money.”
Mr Shah was speaking from Delhi via video call to inaugurate some projects in his Lok Sabha constituency, Gandhinagar. He said the BJP will not only retain power in his home state in the polls due in December, but will get “a thumping majority”.
When Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal was asked about in Ahmedabad, he said, “I agree that people should not trust those who sell false dreams… Instead, trust those who have already made electricity free in Delhi and Punjab, and will make it free in Gujarat too.”
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been campaigning in Gujarat aggressively over the past few weeks, making frequent visits.
The back-and-forth is the latest in a larger debate over subsidies or “freebies” that the BJP opposes. The AAP, as well as several other parties, see welfare schemes as essential to “people-friendly” governance.
Amit Shah claimed Gujarat is on the BJP’s side: “I know the people of Gujarat well enough; they recognise people for their work. And those who actually work are with the BJP.” The party has ruled Gujarat continually since before the turn of the century, and was a launch pad for PM Narendra Modi, who was chief minister for 12 years. “Our victory is a foregone conclusion,” a confident Amit Shah said.
Mr Kejriwal stuck to sarcasm, “The BJP is dreaming. I am surprised that Amit Shah is speaking against his own party. He is saying ‘don’t trust dream sellers’.”
“So, whoever comes and says they will deposit Rs 15 lakh in your bank account, do not trust them at all,” he said, referring to Narendra Modi’s pre-2014 poll promise.
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![Specimen Transport Bag with Document Pouch McKesson 6 X 10 Inch Adhesive Closure Biohazard Symbol / Storage Instructions NonSterile]()
That promise was a “jumla” (figure of speech), Amit Shah had said some years ago, “to actually mean that enough money can be brought back to spend Rs 15 per person on development”. But nuance, if any, was lost and the word “jumla” stuck — ammunition that rival parties continue to use.
For the AAP, Gujarat is its next big project after starting 2022 on a winning note in Punjab, where it formed its second state government after Delhi just six months ago. It had tried to make a dent in Gujarat in 2017, too, but failed miserably. It had performed well below expectations in Punjab then. This time, it’ll hope to carry the Punjab momentum into Gujarat.
Mr Kejriwal has been leading the AAP campaign with a series of jibes and some camera-friendly events, such as dinner at an auto-rickshaw driver’s home in Ahmedabad. That dinner — reminder of a similar stop in his Punjab campaign — made headlines as the police, citing security reasons, told him not to travel by auto. He went ahead nonetheless, and later attributed the police move to “BJP’s fears about AAP’s success”.
Source link: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/amit-shah-vs-arvind-kejriwal-in-a-dream-battle-in-gujarat-dont-trust-those-who-promise-3340563