BJP, Congress like lovers who meet in secret due to fear of society: Kejriwal in Gujarat

Kejriwal’s Gujarat visit, which began on Tuesday, comes close on the heels of the party’s bypoll win in Visavadar constituency of Junagadh. Kejriwal said, “The win in Visavadar is not an ordinary one. Through this win, God has given us a message. The voice of the people is the voice of God. It is not a small thing or coincidence that in the by-election, we have won by three times the votes we garnered in 2022.”

The Visavadar bypoll was necessitated after the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) MLA from the seat, Bhupendra Bhayani, left the party and later switched to the BJP. The AAP fielded its senior leader Gopal Italia from the seat for the by-election held on June 19.

Kejriwal said, “Usually a by-election is won by the party in power in that state. In Gujarat, the BJP has been in power for the last 30 years and has a very strong grip on the administration. This is a party that has no qualms about using Saam, daam, dand, bhed (all means) to win elections… This is a party that didn’t leave any stone unturned to defeat Italia. And yet, winning this seat with such a huge majority… I consider it kudrat ka khel (God’s will).”

Speaking to a packed chamber, Kejriwal, a former Chief Minister of Delhi, said, “According to Gita, God speaks through the people. Now God is saying that the Congress ruled Gujarat for 30 years. Then BJP ruled for another 30 years. Now the wheel of time has turned. The time for the BJP to leave is at hand. A new party will come, an honest party will come, a patriotic party will come and do good work.”

Lashing out at Union Minister CR Paatil, also the BJP chief in Gujarat, Kejriwal said, “I saw a statement by CR Paatil from the time of campaigning in Visavadar. He said, ‘Arre, inka toh Visavadar wala MLA inko chhod ke chala gaya, abhi toh do aur mere touch me hai. (Their (AAP’s) Visavadar MLA left their party and two more are in touch with me)’.”

Kejriwal said, “Mujhe C R Paatil se kehna hai ke sharam karo, thoda bhagwan se daro… tum bhagwan ke darbar me jaaoge, bhagwan tumse puchhega ke ‘C R Paatil, kya kiya tumne prithvi par, toh kya jawab doge?’ ‘Doosri party ke MLA tod-tod ke leke aaya’. Toh bhagwan kya bolega isko kahan bhejo? (I want to tell CR Paatil to be afraid of God. When God will ask you what you did with your time on earth, what will you tell? That you broke off MLAs from other parties? Where will God send you then?)”

Speaking about his Gujarat visit during the Visavadar campaign, Kejriwal said, “I landed at Rajkot airport to go to Junagadh, which is 125 km away. Today, across the world, there are roads where vehicles can be driven at 150-200 kmph speed. But it took me 3.5 hours to go from Rajkot to Junagadh… the roads were so bad that the car was travelling at 35 kmph. You couldn’t make roads in 30 years?”

He said, “There were power cuts five times a day at the hotel I stayed in Junagadh. I went to four villages, none of them had electricity.”

Regarding the flooding in Surat, Kejriwal said, “Just a few days ago, Gopal bhai and Isudanbhai (Gadhvi) went to Surat… a city like Surat is flooded. There was water in the drawing rooms and bedrooms of houses that cost crores of rupees… They gave plots to builders in such a way that water drainage was impeded and it went into people’s homes.”

Kejriwal said, “Surat is the home of CR Paatil and (Gujarat minister) Harsh Sanghavi. But their homes don’t get flooded. Only your (common man’s) homes are flooded. They have made all facilities for themselves. They work only for themselves and not for the public.”

Referring to the alleged MGNREGA scam under investigation in Gujarat, Kejriwal said, “Who goes to work in MGNREGA? Those who don’t have anything in their home. Who works on minimum wage? Those who don’t even have enough to eat. But these people are after their money as well. They will go to hell, in the tel ki kadhai (cauldron of hell)…”

Shifting his aim towards the Congress, Kejriwal said, “And how did they (BJP) manage to do all this? Because the Congress is in their pocket. They (BJP) have become so arrogant. They say what’s the point of doing work? The people of Gujarat have no alternative. They must vote for the BJP because the Congress is in their pocket and both are in this together. This party takes 70% contracts and gives 30% to the other party.”
He said, “Netas from both parties have opened their companies and both get contracts and nobody goes to jail. Congress works for the BJP and it is only the AAP that works for the country and for the people of Gujarat.”

Regarding the AAP’s ambitions in the 2027 Assembly elections, Kejriwal said, “Now, the people of Gujarat want change. They have an alternative in the form of the AAP. The Visavadar victory was a semi-final; the AAP will form the government in 2027. The people will rule and the reign of politicians will be over, the reign of corruption will end.”

Responding to Kejriwal’s remarks, BJP spokesperson Yagnesh Dave said, “Kejriwal ji said that after winning Visavadar, the AAP will win Gujarat. But their win in Visavadar is of 17,000 votes and on a seat, which was never the BJP’s. It was their own seat. If you are talking about winning elections after clinching one seat, you should also talk about the Kadi by-election where the AAP lost its deposit and the BJP won by a massive margin of 45,000 votes. Kejriwal ji may not know the electoral geography of Gujarat, which is why he is making such claims.”

Speaking to The Indian Express, Congress spokesperson Dr Manish Doshi said, “I think that Kejriwal’s script is contrary to what he said earlier. Everyone knows that it is he who has a tie-up with the BJP. Who did he tie up with in Delhi if not the RSS while protesting against (former Delhi CM) Sheila Dixit? He should answer these questions. Instead of questioning the Congress, he should concentrate on what their (AAP) MLAs will do.”

Doshi said, “In the 2022 election, he caused divisions that led to the BJP’s gains. He went to meet (Union minister and senior BJP leader) Amit Shah as well. The people know the truth, and this A team and B team should not mislead the public. Instead, Kejriwal should tell the people if he has any alternative so that the people of Gujarat don’t face the injustice that the people of Delhi are facing now.”