AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal at the party’s 11th National Council Meeting in Delhi on Sunday.
Hitting out at the Narendra Modi government for continuing trade with China even as Indian soldiers put their lives on the line during the recent face-off in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh, Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday appealed to the nation to boycott Chinese goods.
“This is 21st century, and no country can just take over the territory of another country. In the modern world, it is all about trade and economics. The day we show some courage and stop this $95-billion import, China will be put in its place,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
He criticised the Central government for not providing a conducive environment to India to become a manufacturing hub due to which high net-worth Indian citizens are leaving the country.
Reacting to Mr. Kejriwal’s speech, Delhi BJP working president Virendra Sachdeva said the AAP chief boasts about nationalism but in reality only does politics of opportunism.
National status
Mr. Kejriwal was speaking at the AAP’s 11th National Council Meet that was being held after the party achieved a national status. He said AAP was a whiff of fresh air for the people of the country as it fought elections on the basis of work done and work it intends to do rather than indulging in negative politics of name-calling.
Speaking about the future plans of AAP, Mr. Kejriwal said, “I have a vision for the whole country. AAP is only a medium that will help achieve the vision. I envision an India that is a global education hub, where no one sleeps hungry, where the underprivileged get top-class education, healthcare. In our vision for India, there is no scope for caste-religion divide, if the nation can’t unite, it won’t be able to progress.”
Addressing issues of price rise and unemployment, Mr. Kejriwal said the national inflation rate was hitting 7.4%, but inflation rate in Delhi was at 4% which is the lowest in the country. This is because Delhi has an honest government that assists its citizens. He added that to curb unemployment, in Delhi, the government was training students to become job providers and have been able to give 12 lakh jobs. In Punjab too, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has been able to create 21,000 government jobs and given appointment letters to the aspirants.
Three pillars
Mr. Kejriwal reminded his party workers that the three pillars of AAP were Kattar Deshbhakti (staunch patriots), Kattar Imaandari (staunch honesty) and Insaaniyat (humanity) and that it was formed to clean up the politics of the country.
“Mr. Kejriwal, who talks big about nationalism, keeps silent on Pakistan’s indecent remarks towards India on the international stage in his party’s national convention. It is clear how hollow his nationalism is,” Mr. Sachdeva said. He added that Mr. Kejriwal has portrayed AAP getting national party status as exclusive achievement of his party, but the truth is that amongst the political parties formed after the Independence, the BJP is the only party in the country which had become a national party on the day of its formation.
“The Bahujan Samaj Party, the Communist Party Marxist, the All India Trinamool Congress, the Nationalist Congress, the National People’s Party, all these parties got the national status within a few years of their establishment, while Aam Aadmi Party took 10 years in becoming a national party,” Mr. Sachdeva said.
