PM Modi hits out at AAP, promises BJP will continue welfare schemes if voted to power in Delhi

The Prime Minister said that the people of Delhi have realised that the state government over the last 10 years has been nothing less than “AAP-da” (disaster).

“Isiliye sirf ek hi awaz goonj rahi hai, Aapda nahi sahenge, badlav hum layenge (that is why now only one voice is echoing in Delhi, ‘we will not tolerate Aap-da, we will bring change),” said the PM while attacking the AAP on alleged corruption.

Referring to a report by The Indian Express, the PM also accused AAP of only focussing on ‘Sheesh Mahal’ — the BJP’s name for the Chief Minister’s house renovated when Kejriwal was the Chief Minister.

“Those who brought aapada to Delhi, allege that the Centre does not let them work and does not give them money. Their Sheesh Mahal proves their lies. Today, a big newspaper has written about the expenditure on Sheesh Mahal based on a CAG report… They made a hefty budget for it. The newspaper has shown how three times that budget was spent,” Modi said, adding that when people across the country were fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, the AAP was building the house.

On Saturday, The Indian Express reported how the CAG is learnt to have showed that starting from preliminary estimates of Rs 7.91 crore, work of the premises of 6, Flag Staff Road was awarded at Rs 8.62 crore in 2020 and when it was completed by the Public Works Department (PWD) in 2022, the total cost stood at Rs 33.66 crore.

“You will be pained to know that when people were fighting Covid, running around to get medicines and oxygen, their (AAP’s) entire focus was on making Sheesh Mahal. They prepared a hefty budget for Sheesh Mahal. The newspaper has shown how three times that budget was spent on Sheesh Mahal,” Modi stated.

Intensifying his attacks, Modi also criticised the AAP government for the alleged lack of development and poor infrastructure in the city over the last 10 years.

“The BJP government has introduced over 1,000 electric buses in Delhi and is advancing e-mobility rapidly. In contrast, the AAP government has done little to support public transport in the city. They are neglecting bus maintenance, leading to potholes on every road, frequent traffic jams, and garbage strewn around the city,” he said.

“Jabse maine aapda ka kaccha chitta khola hai , tabse ye aapda wale tilmila gaye hain ye log (since I started exposing these people, they have been in a panic)…These people have kept Delhi in a poor state for 10 years, and today, people call them AAPda. They attack me. But see what they have turned Delhi into. In the summers, there is a struggle to get drinking water; in the rain, there is waterlogging; in winters, breathing in the polluted air is tough. Each season is AAPda kaal,” he said.

Calling for a “double-engine government” in the state, he said, “Delhi will develop only when the AAPda govt is removed… Development will be seen when the double-engine government and good governance reach here… It is also important for the people of Delhi to know how AAPda stops facilities for the poor and the middle class. AAPda sarkaar is not implementing the PM Awas Yojana properly; it is creating hurdles in the construction of houses for the poor. The 30,000 houses constructed for the poor are lying vacant. The BJP regularised hundreds of unauthorised colonies but the AAPda government is not making arrangements for water and sewer lines there,” said Modi.

He also said that by stopping the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, AAP is insulting the “senior and elderly people of Delhi”.

Further, PM Modi urged the people to vote for the BJP to make Delhi the number one modern city in the world. “I have come here after inaugurating several projects and laying the foundation stone for more… The coming 25 years are very important for the country’s future and Delhi’s future. In these 25 years, India will turn into a developed country,” he said.

Modi also urged party workers to take the pictures and videos of what people have to say about Swabhiman Apartments – the in-situ slum rehabilitation project that he inaugurated on January 3 – and the BJP government and take these messages to other slum dwellers.

Referring to party workers as “Modi”, he asked them to spread the word about the schemes and the work done by the Central government in Delhi. “Tell (the other slum dwellers) them they will also soon get these houses. Sathiyon mere liye toh aap hi Modi hai (Friends, you are my Modi),” he said.

Urging the people of Delhi to vote for the BJP, Modi stated, “People trust the BJP because it delivers good governance…This is why people across the nation trust the BJP. Over the past few years, the people of Delhi have witnessed the lotus bloom in Northeast India and Odisha. Recently, the BJP was elected in Haryana for the third time. Vote for the BJP in Delhi, and if you want the city to develop, bring in a BJP chief minister.”

He said that if the BJP forms a government in Delhi, the party will bring in women-centric schemes to the city.

Urging people to vote for the BJP in large numbers, he said, “I believe that the people of Delhi will choose the BJP to make Delhi the number 1 modern developed city in the world.”