Chandigarh: AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday invoked the Hindu epic Mahabharata and said his party has ‘dharma’ with it while asking people to decide whether they are with ‘dharma’ or ‘adharma’.
The Delhi chief minister also asked people to vote in the coming Lok Sabha polls to elect an MP, not the prime minister, saying the MP would “work for you during tough times”.
Addressing a public meeting in Haryana’s Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituency, he urged people to vote for Sushil Gupta, the AAP candidate from the seat.
The AAP and the Congress will fight the Lok Sabha polls in alliance in Haryana. Under the tie-up, the AAP will contest from the lone Kurukshetra seat out of total 10 parliamentary seats in the state.
Taking on the BJP-JJP government, Kejriwal said the Khattar government has “destroyed” Haryana in the last 10 years.
“Now, everybody wants the Khattar government to go. Ensure AAP’s victory on the Kurukshetra seat…it will follow the news of Khattar’s exit,” he said.
Addressing the gathering, Kejriwal said Kurukshetra is a pious land where the ‘dharmayudh’ was fought.
‘Pandavas’ had won it despite ‘Kauravas’ having everything, said the AAP convener who was accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
“What did Pandavas have? Lord Shri Krishna was with them,” he said.
“Today, what do we have with us. We are small too, but Lord Shri Krishna is with us,” said Kejriwal.
Referring to the BJP-led Centre, Kejriwal said, “They have everything. They have all the powers. They have IB, CBI, ED.”
“We have our ‘dharma’ (righteousness) with us. It (Lok Sabha polls) is a fight between ‘dharma’ (righteousness) and ‘adharma’ (non-righteousness) and you have to decide whether you are with ‘dharma’ or ‘adharma’,” Kejriwal told the gathering.
“Do not make a mistake this time. Do not fall into a trap of electing the prime minister. Vote for electing your MP. Elect an MP that will help you in tough times,” he asked people.
Seeking votes for his party candidate, Kejriwal said he (Gupta) understands the problems of people and will raise their voice.
Kejriwal said the BJP says that it is winning 370 seats in the Lok Sabha polls. “They are openly saying they do not need your votes.”
“I came from Delhi to seek your votes with folded hands. Sushil Gupta ji is going door to door to seek your votes. We need your votes to win elections. They (BJP) do not need your votes,” said Kejriwal.
The Delhi CM further said there are two types of people in the country. One is a “desh bhakt” and the other is “andh bhakt”.
“Those who are ‘desh bhakt’ come with me…we don’t need ‘andh bhakt’,” he said.
Slamming the BJP MPs from Haryana, Kejriwal claimed that they never did anything for the people of the state.
You have been giving all the 10 seats to the BJP for the last two Lok Sabha elections. I want to ask you what these 10 MPs did for you in the last 10 years. Tell one work which they did…they did nothing.
“They are not your MPs. They are BJP MPs. They are BJP’s slaves. When you faced so many problems in the last 10 years, where were they,” he asked.
He also raised the issue of Haryana wrestlers who had last year protested against the then Wrestling Federation of India chief for allegedly sexually harassing female grapplers.
“Atrocities were committed with our Haryana’s wrestler daughters. They faced harassment. They were beaten up with lathis when they went to Delhi for holding an agitation…I supported them at Jantar Mantar,” said the AAP leader.
“Where were your 10 MPs? They were clapping when your daughters were being harassed,” he said.
He further slammed the Centre and the Haryana government for stopping farmers from heading towards Delhi.
“What is their fault? They are just demanding price (MSP) for their crops. What did they get? They were given tear gas shells…one Punjab farmer died,” said Kejriwal while referring to the ongoing farmers’ agitation at Shambhu and Khanauri borders of Punjab and Haryana.
He alleged that the farmers whose crops got damaged last year were not compensated by the Khattar government.