Arvind Kejriwal questions Centre's 'dostwaad'

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New Delhi, August 8

Indirectly having a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today lamented that no one talked about the freebies given to the corporate in the form of loan waivers to the tune of Rs 10 lakh crore, which “breeds crony capitalism”.

The AAP leader said his government’s public-centric schemes were lambasted as freebies and no one talked about the “actual freebie”, enjoyed by “friends” of the current regime at the Centre. He termed it “dostwaad”.

“An environment is being created in the country to label government benefits enjoyed by citizens as something which is pushing the government treasury into a debt. This is against the rightful claim of people and it is sad to see this happening at a time when we are celebrating the 75th year of India’s Independence,” Kejriwal said in a video posted on his official Twitter handle. “Loans and taxes to the tune of Rs 10 lakh crore of corporate friends are being written off. However, if someone is utilising the same fund to ensure free education and health for citizens, it’s termed ‘revari’. Is it a crime to uplift the standard of living of our citizens,” he asked.

In his video address, Kejriwal demanded that the Centre should provide free good education, healthcare and 300 units of electricity to every household and offer an unemployment allowance. He said those who opposed such things should be called “traitors”.

Kejriwal also cited examples of a few countries, such as Denmark, Canada, Norway and Spain, where basic health and education are taken care of by their governments.