The Delhi Chief Minister, on Saturday, July 16, countered Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s quip about state governments offering freebies in order to appease voters, surreptitiously targeting Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) strategy in Delhi and Punjab. The Delhi CM refuted the claim of terming free water, electricity, healthcare or “world-class” primary education provided by AAP government in Delhi and Punjab as “revdis”. Kejriwal said that it is the duty and responsibility of the state to provide best facility to its citizens.
“To give free and good education to the children of our country and to provide good and free treatment to the people – this is not called distributing free rewari. We are laying the foundation of a developed and proud India. This work should have been done 75 years ago.” said Delhi CM when roughly translated from his virtual addressing in Hindi on Saturday.
अपने देश के बच्चों को मुफ़्त और अच्छी शिक्षा देना और लोगों का अच्छा और मुफ़्त इलाज करवाना – इसे मुफ़्त की रेवड़ी बाँटना नहीं कहते। हम एक विकसित और गौरवशाली भारत की नींव रख रहे हैं। ये काम 75 साल पहले हो जाना चाहिए था। https://t.co/sHfiBvltU0
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) July 16, 2022
The Delhi CM quoted the story of one “Gagan”, purportedly a son of a worker who went unemployed after loosing a job during lockdown period but later managed to get a seat in Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Dhanbad in Computer Engineering. He further stated that Kejriwal has provided Gagan a future and not Revdis.
“Today, Gagan, the son of a worker who lost his ₹ 15,000-a-month job during the lockdown, has managed to get admission at IIT Dhanbad in computer engineering. Ask him if Kejriwal is handing out free revdis or building the future of this country,” Kejriwal said while endorsing the betterment of public schools in Delhi.
एक बच्चा है गगन, जिसके पिता जी मज़दूरी करते थे। गगन दिल्ली सरकार के स्कूल में पढ़ा, आज गगन का एडमिशन IIT-धनबाद में कम्प्यूटर इंजीनियरिंग में हुआ है।
गगन से पूछिए कि मैं फ़्री की रेवड़ियां बांट रहा हूँ या देश का भविष्य संवार रहा हूँ। pic.twitter.com/hmGUO0lxsO
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) July 16, 2022
Kejriwal asked PM Modi if providing “future” to the needy and underprivileged be called “Revdis” or providing expensive services at no cost to the ministers is Revdi.
“Those asking me why we give 200 units of free electricity in Delhi and 300 units in Punjab – I want to ask them, how many units of free electricity do you give your ministers? 4,000? 5,000?” Kejriwal was heard saying in his video addressing. He further highlighted the state of Delhi in terms of managing the funds appropriately. “Despite making so many things free, Delhi has a budget surplus. What’s wrong in ending corruption and using that money to help the public?” he said.
Making a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led Central government for it’s decision to waive off loans of rich businessmen in the country, Delhi CM narrated the concerning issue of inaction of the Central government on “big” loan defaulters.
“I will tell you what free revdis are. There is a big company. It took loans from many banks and did not repay. Banks went bankrupt. That company paid up to the ruling party and faced no action. This is free revdi,” Kejriwal stated while being furious on the Central Government. He further stated, “When you forgive thousands of crores in loans for your friends, that is free revdi. When you go for foreign trips, and seek contracts for your friends, that is free revdi,” Delhi CM said while making sharp attack seemingly on PM Modi.
Kejriwal’s rebuttal has come the same day in the aftermath of PM Modi criticizing the “revdi culture” in the latter’s addressing at the inauguration ceremony of Bundelkhand Expressway in BJP ruled Uttar Pradesh on Saturday.
“In our country today, attempts are being made to bring a culture of garnering votes by distributing ‘revdis’. This ‘revdi culture’ is very dangerous for the development of the country. People of the country and especially the youth need to guard against this culture,” PM Modi stated, on Saturday, while attacking AAP government’s freebies culture in Delhi and Punjab. PM Modi warned that “revdi culture” will make only disaster to the country and not make new expressways, airports and defence corridors.
“The revdi culture people think they will buy out people by distributing free revdi. We have to jointly defeat this thinking of theirs. Have to remove ‘revdi culture’ from the country’s politics,” PM Modi said in a witty style without taking any names earlier in the day on Saturday.
