First rally at seat home to Poorvanchali voters: Can Kejriwal bathe in Yamuna with his ministers, asks Yogi

Maintaining “AAP jhooth ka ATM hai”, Adityanath, in his maiden speech, slammed the party for the poor condition of roads, lack of sanitation as well as drinking water and sewage problems facing the Capital. “Had they thought of the people of Delhi, the Capital would have been transformed,” he said.

Accusing AAP national convenor and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal of converting Yamuna river into a “dirty drain”, he said: “Yesterday, I along with all my ministers took a holy dip at the Sangam in Prayagraj where Maha Kumbh is on. I want to ask Kejriwal whether he can bathe in the Yamuna in Delhi along with his ministers? He should answer if he has any moral courage.”

He alleged that the devotees and sadhus in Mathura and Vrindavan are also victims of AAP’s “sins”, as “Mother Yamuna” reaches there in the form of a dirty drain. “Arvind Kejriwal and company” never cooperated for the cleanliness of the Yamuna under the Namami Gange project, he claimed.

“Except in NDMC (New Delhi Municipal Council that comes under the Union government) areas, what is the condition of sewers and roads in the Capital? Earlier, people from various states used to speak of coming to Delhi for better infrastructure, roads and cleanliness. It’s not the same today,” said Adityanath.

Other than NDMC areas, where round-the-clock power supply is ensured by the Centre, powercuts in the rest of Delhi are more than in many other cities of the country, he added.

“Gaddho me sadak hai ya sadak me gaddhe hain samajh hi nahi aa raha hai (No one can make out if there are potholes in roads or roads in potholes),” he alleged.

Maintaining that UP has better infrastructure than Delhi, Adityanath said, “Roads in Noida and Ghaziabad are far better than in the Capital… You can compare the medical colleges in UP and Delhi. They (AAP) have kept people away from benefits as part of a conspiracy…”

Electricity in UP was cheaper than that in Delhi, he claimed, adding that the per unit charge of electricity in UP for an ordinary consumer is not more than Rs 3-3.50 while it is Rs 9-10 per unit in Delhi. “It means they (Delhi) are charging three times more money than UP but they are unable to provide a 24-hour power supply,” he added.

Kirari, which was carved out as a separate constituency in 2008, was won by BJP’s Anil Jha Vats in both 2008 and 2013 polls. AAP’s Rituraj Govind won the seat twice in 2015 and 2020.

However, Vats will, this time, contest on a AAP ticket from the seat – he had left BJP to join the party two months ago. Govind has been denied ticket owing to “poor” performance as MLA, sources in the AAP said.

While BJP has fielded Bajrang Shukla from the seat, the Congress has given ticket to Rajesh Gupta.

Addressing another rally in Karol Bagh, Adityanath accused the AAP leaders of settling Bangladeshi infiltrators in Okhla and other important places in the Capital.

The AAP office-bearers and MLAs had settled Bangladeshi infiltrators on the land of the irrigation department of the UP government around Jamia Nagar two years ago, he alleged. “I tried two to three times to explain that the land belonged to the UP government and when they forced their way, I had to send bulldozers from UP to remove them and get the land barricaded,” he said.

BJP sources said Adityanath is expected to address over a dozen rallies ahead of the polls.

Hitting back at Adityanath, Kejriwal sought to know during an election rally at Hari Nagar – 15 km from Kirari – how long powercuts last in Uttar Pradesh.

“We have been in power in Delhi for the last 10 years and ensured 24×7 power supply. BJP has been ruling UP for the last 10 years and with all humility, I want to ask Yogiji, can he explain the long powercuts across his state,” he asked.

“Yogi Adityanath… hasn’t been able to improve the condition of government schools in UP despite being in power for 10 years. Govt schools are the worst in all BJP-ruled states… We can send our education minister to UP to teach the BJP how to improve educational infrastructure,” he added.