BJP, Cong Looted Chhattisgarh For 23 Years, Now Vote AAP To Power To End Corruption: Kejriwal Sounds Poll Bugle

Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress of looting Chhattisgarh for the last 23 years and appealed to people to give a chance to his party in the state to rid it of corruption and 'mafia raj'.

He also defended former Delhi deputy CM and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia, who was recently arrested in a Delhi excise policy case, calling him a 'Sant' (saint) and 'mahatma' (great soul), and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will face the curse of students and poor people in Delhi for putting him in jail.

Sounding the poll bugle for the Assembly elections scheduled in the Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh this year-end, he also asked people to keep their children's future in mind before casting their votes.

He was addressing a rally of AAP workers at Jora ground on the outskirts of the capital Raipur.

"Chhattisgarh is a mineral-rich state, but people in the state are struggling with poverty despite being talented and hard-working...Of the last 23 years (after Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh in 2000), BJP ruled for 15 years, while Congress governed it for the remaining period. They did nothing except loot the state. If any of them come to power again, the loot will continue," he alleged.

He appealed to people to give a chance to the AAP in this year's Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh to get rid of corruption and 'mafia raj' (rule of mafia). 

After the formation of Chhattisgarh in 2000, the Ajit Jogi-led Congress government ruled the state for the first three years. In 2003, the BJP came to power with Raman Singh becoming the chief minister. The saffron party remained at the helm till 2018, after which the grand old party returned to power.

Kejriwal hit out at PM Modi and said he loves industrialist Gautam Adani like his 'Muh Bola' (foster) brother and is handing over everything in the country to him.

He also slammed Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel for allocating coal mines in the biodiversity-rich Hasdeo Arand forest in the northern part of the state despite tribals' opposition.

"Both BJP and Chhattisgarh want to loot Hasdeo. Does this jungle belong to BJP or Congress or Adani? A portion of Hasdeo was sold to Adani. Modi ji has a Muh bola brother (without naming Adani). You do not even love your child as much as Modi ji loves his Muh bola brother. Previous BJP government in Chhattisgarh gave coal mines to Adani," the top leader of the AAP alleged. 

"In 2018, Rahul Gandhi, Bhupesh Baghel, and his cabinet colleague T S Singh Deo had visited Hasdeo and opposed mining by Adani there. But I want to ask Baghel, sahib, when did Adani become his Muh bola brother as he allowed mining for the second phase of the coal mine to him? If Congress or BJP are given more chances (to form a government) in Chhattisgarh then the entire forest will be sold to Adani," he claimed. 

"We don't have any relationship with Adani, rather we have a relationship only with people. Give us a chance, all mines and forests will be of people of the state and they will benefit from it, he added.

Speaking on Sisodia's arrest, Kejriwal said, "Manish Sisodia is not a thief. He is a noble person. He transformed all government schools in Delhi in just five years. He was sent to jail but those who take 40 per cent commission (apparently referring to the BJP government in Karnataka) are not sent to jail."

Sisodia used to wake up at 6 am and visit schools in Delhi, he said. 

"A corrupt person does not go to (official) visit daily in the morning. If anyone does corrupt then what he will do with money...(he) will drink alcohol at the night and do 'Ladki Baji' (illicit acts). He will not visit school. He (Sisodia) is 'Sant' and 'Mahatma'," he said.

"Modi ji, you should be ashamed of this sin. Children of around 18 lakh poor families study in the schools of Delhi. Modi ji will face the curse of these families. You think you have become god, but remember the curse of poor people shakes big thrones," he added.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Sisodia last Sunday in connection with alleged corruption in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy relating to the sale of alcohol. 

Referring to his visit to poll-bound Karnataka on Saturday, Kejriwal said, during the 2018 elections, PM Modi had appealed to form a "double engine" government in the southern state and accused the then Congress dispensation of running a "20 per cent commission sarkar" there. 

"However, after the BJP came to power there the commission doubled to 40 per cent," the Delhi CM alleged. 

"Double-engine government increases corruption," he said, appealing to people to elect the AAP saying that eliminates corruption. 

Speaking on the occasion, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also accused the BJP-led Centre of trying to break the AAP and targeting the media.

He also took a dig at BJP's 2014 poll slogan "Achhe din" (good days), and said Punjab and Delhi are witnessing "Achche din" (truthful days). 

"We have come to Chhattisgarh not to show our strength or raise false slogans or promises like Rs 15 lakh in every bank account. We have come to tell the truth. We don't know about Achhe din, but we know people in Punjab and Delhi have been witnessing Achche din...," he said.