Kejriwal’s promises remain unfulfilled in Delhi, Punjab: Hardeep Puri
The Hindu
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri criticizes AAP's unfulfilled promises in Delhi and Punjab, highlighting failures ahead of elections.
Addressing a press conference in Delhi on Sunday (January 12, 2025), Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri hit out at Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal by drawing up a list of promises in Delhi in the 2020 Assembly elections and Punjab in 2022, saying that they remain unfulfilled.
With the Assembly elections in Delhi approaching, he said that he was “personally familiar” with pronouncements made in Delhi and Punjab, adding, “I am a citizen of Delhi and I was born in Delhi… if there is any city in the world that I love, it is Delhi. The way that they (AAP) have ruined the city, I have analysed it first hand and want to share it with you.”
He read out AAP’s ten guarantees made prior to the last Assembly polls one by one, including the promise of free electricity, freeing Delhi from high-tension wires, healthcare and education. He said, “They had promised 500 new schools but till 2022, only 65 were built.” He further alleged that AAP inflates the number of classrooms built by including school washrooms while calculating the numbers.
About the promise to clean the Yamuna, he said, “The Yamuna is 500 times more than its prescribed level... Those who have brought Delhi to this level, when asked questions, try to divert attention.”
He further said that the promises in Punjab that women would be given ₹1000 per month, and that Punjab would be drug-free also remain unfulfilled. He said, “After the formation of the AAP government in Punjab, we need to have a separate session about the energy that has come to the drug lords there…”
He also spoke about how he was earlier “impressed” by Mr. Kejriwal saying, “When he started his political journey, there were some of us who were present at Ramlila Maidan who truly understood that this was going to become a big movement against corruption. We were also a little impressed by his personality. He wears a muffler, sits in the front seat of Wagon R, and swears that he will never join politics…” Over the years, however, he added that the former Delhi CM’s lack of planning came to the fore.
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