New Delhi, EW News: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday claimed that he and his party leaders are being pressurized to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and contended he will never ally with the saffron party.
Addressing a gathering during a foundation stone laying ceremony of a new school in Rohini, the Delhi CM said, “No matter what conspiracy they hatch, nothing is going to happen. I also am standing firm against them… They ask us to join the BJP saying they’ll spare us. I said I would not join the BJP… We are doing nothing wrong,” Kejriwal said.
The Delhi chief minister also criticized the Narendra Modi government over budget allotment for schools and hospitals claiming the Centre has allocated only 4 per cent of the Union budget to education and medical sector.
“The central government spends only 4% of the national budget on schools and hospitals. Whereas the Delhi government spends 40% of its budget every year on schools and hospitals…,” he claimed. The AAP chief further said that central agencies are after them and claimed his former deputy Manish Sisodia was arrested only because he was working for the betterment of school infrastructure.
“Today all agencies are after us. Manish Sisodia’s fault is that he was building good schools. Satyendr Jain’s fault is that he was getting good hospitals and mohalla clinics built. Had Manish Sisodia not been working for the betterment of school infrastructure, he would not have been arrested. They created all sorts of conspiracies, but couldn’t deter us…,” he added.
The remarks of the Delhi chief minister come a day after the Enforcement Directorate moved Delhi’s Rouse Avenue court against him for non-compliance with its summons. The ED has been summing Kejriwal for questioning in connection with the liquor policy case since November last year. However, the AAP leader has refused to appear before the agency, terming the summons illegal and politically motivated.
