India News | Will Provide Public All Facilities Ministers Get from Government, Says Kejriwal
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday expressed his resolve to provide the public all the facilities available to ministers and lashed out at opposition parties for terming his government's schemes "freebies".
New Delhi, Nov 24 (PTI) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday expressed his resolve to provide the public all the facilities available to ministers and lashed out at opposition parties for terming his government's schemes "freebies".
Governments do not lack funds, they just "fool" people, he claimed.
The Aam Aadmi Party is working towards expanding its electoral footprint in different states with its national convener Kejriwal, his ministers and party leaders making frequent trips to Punjab, Uttarkhand and Goa where Assembly polls are due next year.
At a programme organised by the AAP's Legal Cell here, Kejriwal said, "Every minister gets 4,000 units of electricity for free and that's not a 'freebie'. But when I give 200 units of electricity to the people of Delhi for free it is called 'freebie'."
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He claimed that as soon as one becomes MLA, their bank balance shoots up immediately, they start owning two to three bungalows, open accounts in the Swiss banks and "lives of their next seven generations get sorted".
"I have resolved that all the facilities which ministers get from the government, I will provide them to the people of the country too. When ministers get free treatment, the parties do not have any problem. But if we give free facilities to the public, then they call us names," Kejriwal said.
Besides free electricity up to 200 units, the Kejriwal government also provides 20,000 litres of water and transport for women on public buses for free.
"Opposition leaders ask from where the money will come from if people are provided facilities free of cost. We stopped the loot of money by ministers and officials. We started distributing to the public all the money that used to get stolen," the Delhi chief minister said.
"I ask all my opponents, who pays for the treatment of ministers? No one bats an eye at their free treatment. Every single minister gets 4,000 units of free electricity. Why is that not termed freebie," he posed.
Kejriwal said the life insurance scheme approved by his government before Covid benefitted families of 122 lawyers who fall prey to the disease and Rs 12.25 crore were disbursed to them. Also, 1,220 people benefitted from the medical insurance scheme at the time of Covid and Rs 7.25 crore was released for their Covid treatment, he said.
The chief minister also assured his help in coming up with a law for the protection of lawyers.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)