Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Gupta Thursday said that unlike other political parties, AAP does not discriminate on the basis of caste or religion.
Gupta was speaking at AAP Haryana’s two-day Prashikshan Shivir (training camp) in Gurgaon, organised to discuss party’s affairs and strategy in Haryana. “All other political parties discriminate on the basis of caste and religion. AAP jaati ke aadhar pe bhed bhav nhi karti. (AAP does not discriminate on the basis of caste). We have given ticket to candidates only on the merit of a particular candidate and not on considerations of caste, gender… Haryana mein sirf jaati aur dharm ke naam pe abi rajneeti ho rhi hai. Inke naam pe ladaya ja raha hai (At the moment, in Haryana, politics is being done only on the basis of caste and religion),” said Gupta, who is the party’s in-charge in Haryana.
Hitting out the BJP government in Haryana, Gupta said that ‘widespread corruption’ was the root cause, due to which all work has been put on hold. (Source: Twitter/@DrSushilKrGupta)
Gupta said there was a ‘jungle raj’ in the State: “The rule of law has collapsed in Haryana. Women are scared to go out after 6 pm. Businessmen are receiving extortion threats and are being shot at… policemen are being mowed down by trucks, MLAs are receiving threats, 25 baar paper leak hote hein… (Papers get leaked many times).”
Hitting out the BJP government in Haryana, Gupta said that ‘widespread corruption’ was the root cause, due to which all work has been put on hold. “There is widespread corruption in Haryana… In every corporation in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Hisar, Jind, Fatehabad, Manesar… Due to corruption, no work is taking place to improve infrastructure (related to roads, drainage, water, power). Na achhe school ban rhe hein na hospital (Neither good schools nor hospitals are being built),” said Gupta.
He said that by bringing in the Agniveer scheme, the government had crushed the dreams of youths of Haryana. “Every tenth person in the Army is from Haryana. The youths who dreamt of serving the nation… (government) is saying that after four years, they will now become peons, porters and chowkidars. By using such language, they are mocking the youth of the country. We have raised this issue in the Parliament also,” said Gupta.
Urging the party members to ‘always speak the truth’ and maintain clear communication, Gupta said, “We want to change the situation in Haryana. There are many issues. Inflation is very high. Haryana has the highest unemployment in the country. The farmers are distressed… all these issues, we will discuss in the Prashikshan Shivir for betterment of Haryana. AAP will fight elections for panchayati raj, municipal corporation, municipal council, Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha in Haryana and form the government.”
On former Haryana Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi joining the BJP, Gupta said, “Haryana Congress pehle hi BJP ke saath biki hui hai (Haryana Congress has already sold out to BJP). Congress in Haryana is scared and hence there is this split.”
AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj said that the Congress was a sinking ship and everyone was abandoning that ship and going elsewhere. “AAP vikalp ki rajneeti kar rhi hai. People at this point are looking for a strong alternative to BJP. In the past few years, this is amply clear that Congress is not an alternative to BJP. On seats where Congress and BJP are in a direct contest, BJP wins nine out of ten times. Even on the one seat that Congress does win, there remains a possibility that their winning MLA switches over to BJP and the government falls. If you want an alternative to BJP, then AAP is the strongest force. In every state, people want that they have access to better education, health and a corruption-free government and we will work towards that,” said Bhardwaj.
Bhardwaj added that the BJP was misusing the Enforcement Directorate to attack its political rivals in several states.