Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led government at Centre will protect the interests of Delhi. He also said that the Budget will tell us how much Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cares for Delhi.
“The people of Delhi hope that centre will protect their interests in budget. Delhi should get more in the wake of Assembly elections. The Budget will tell us how much Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cares for Delhi,” Kejriwal said on Twitter on Saturday morning ahead of the presentation of Budget.
दिल्ली के लोगों को पूरी उम्मीद है कि केंद्र सरकार बजट में दिल्ली के हितों की रक्षा करेगी। चुनाव के मद्देनजर दिल्ली को और भी ज़्यादा मिलना चाहिए। बजट बताएगा कि भाजपा को हम दिल्लीवालों की कितनी परवाह है।
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 1, 2020
Last month, Kejriwal had asked Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman not to let the model code of conduct stand in the way of making announcements that would benefit the national capital.
“Delhi’s development shouldn’t stop at any cost,” Kejriwal told reporters, declaring that he disagreed with advice that AAP should take all steps to try to get the Union Budget, scheduled to be presented on February 1, deferred.
“We want the budget on February 1 and we want that in this budget, the Centre makes many announcements about Delhi so that people benefit and Delhi’s development is fast-tracked,” the chief minister had said.
The Centre could also, he continued, give the three BJP-run municipal corporations as much money as it wants.
The Assembly elections will take place in Delhi on February 8, and counting will happen on February 11. The ruling AAP is hoping to better its 2015 performance (it had won 67 of 70 seats) riding on the back of the slew of freebies it announced for people of Delhi. The tweet could provide ammunition to AAP to counter the BJP when it promises more funds to Delhi during the election.
One of the campaign pitches of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is in power at the Centre and the municipal corporations, is to elect the party to the city government too to let the triple-engine power Delhi’s development.
