24x7 free power, quality education, 2 crore jobs: Arvind Kejriwal unveils ‘10 guarantees’

New Delhi, May 12

AAP convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday unveiled ‘Kejriwal ki 10 Guarantees’ (Kejriwal’s 10 guarantees) under the umbrella of the INDIA bloc, promising round-the-clock free power for the poor, setting up of world-class schools and a robust healthcare system among others.

• Editorial: Kejriwal on poll trail

Asked whether he was in the running for the Prime Minister’s post, Kejriwal responded with a firm “no”, clarifying his focus was on ensuring the guarantees promised by AAP would be fulfilled if the Opposition parties came to power.

AAP’s promises

24×7 free electricity

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Quality education for free

Provision for better healthcare

Land from China to be reclaimed

Scrapping of Agniveer scheme

MSP as per Swaminathan report

Full statehood for Delhi

2 crore jobs in next one year

Crackdown on corruption

Simplification of GST

I have to go back to jail after 20 days. If you choose jhadu (AAP symbol), I won’t have to go back to jail. Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi CM

Addressing a press conference two days after the Supreme Court granted him interim bail, Kejriwal vowed to reclaim land from China, eradicate corruption and do away with the ‘Agniveer’ scheme, while emphasising on job creation, farmer welfare and tax reforms. Additionally, Kejriwal pledged full statehood for Delhi.

“Our 10 guarantees are a vision of a new India. There are many such works in these which should have been carried out in the past 75 years, but couldn’t be done due to certain reasons. There are many works without which no nation can become powerful… This work will be completed on a war footing in the next five years,” he said.

The Delhi CM said PM Narendra Modi did not fulfil even one of his previous guarantees such as depositing Rs 15 lakh in every person’s account, two crore jobs, implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report, doubling of farm income, 24×7 electricity, bullet train and 100 smart cities.

Admitting it was quite late to issue guarantees given elections were already on, Kejriwal said the delay was due to his arrest. However, four phases were still ahead, he said.

“Though these promises are being made as ‘Kejriwal’s guarantees’, I have not yet discussed these with INDIA bloc leaders. But I believe no member of the alliance will have any problem with any of my guarantees. These are ‘Kejriwal ki 10 Guarantees’.”

He said the AAP governments were already providing 24-hour electricity in Punjab and Delhi, and this would be replicated nationwide — providing free electricity up to 200 units to the poor.

The AAP supremo said: “Our fourth guarantee is ‘nation first’. China has occupied our land but the Centre is in denial. Everybody knows it… Hiding the situation from citizens is no solution. There is a lot of strength in our Army, give them the chance to work freely, allow them once and see how they’ll bring back what’s ours.”

Kejriwal further said schemes such as “Agniveer” had proved to be harmful for the Army and caused trouble to the youth. “They are recruited in the Army and then fired after four years. There is no ownership. This is only making the Army weaker, on a ‘cutting-edge level’. Our fifth guarantee is to withdraw the ‘Agniveer’ scheme and regularise youths already recruited,” he said.

Vowing to implement the Swaminathan Commission report, Kejriwal said: “If you ensure correct prices of crops, the farmer does not need any favours from you. We guarantee that farmers will be provided the MSP (minimum support price) as per the Swaminathan panel report on all of their crops.”

His guarantee of employment entails generating two crore new jobs annually. The Delhi CM said they would end corruption and demolish BJP’s “washing machine”, whereby “tainted” opposition leaders were allowed into the party.

He further promised changes in GST structure to enable businesspersons to flourish. “If the businesspersons and industrialists can’t run or expand their business properly, they can never flourish… So, our 10th guarantee is that GST will be removed from PMLA regulations and simplified. All administrative and legal arrangements will be simplified,” he added.