New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today unveiled AAP’s ’10 guarantees’ if his party wins the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Mr Kejriwal’s assurances encompass a broad spectrum of public welfare initiatives, including pledges for free electricity and improved healthcare.

“BJP has always failed on its promises; my guarantees have proven track record,” Mr Kejriwal said. “People have to take a call whether to go for ‘Kejriwal ki Guarantee’ or ‘Modi Guarantee.”

At the forefront of Mr Kejriwal’s electoral promises is the assurance of free electricity for all, particularly targeting the economically backward sections of society. The AAP chief advocated for replicating Delhi’s model of uninterrupted power supply nationwide. 

“Out of the 10 guarantees, the first guarantee is that we will provide 24-hour electricity in the country. The country has the capacity to generate 3 lakh MW of electricity but the usage is only 2 lakh MW. Our country can produce more electricity than the demand. We have done it in Delhi and Punjab, we will do it in the country also. We will provide up to 200 units of free electricity to all the poor. It will cost Rs 1.25 lakh crore, we can arrange it,” Mr Kejriwal said. 

Second on Mr Kejriwal’s poll guarantees list is revamping education in government schools. The Delhi Chief Minister claimed that Rs 5 lakh crore will be required to remedy that and that state governments and the Centre should pay Rs 2.5 lakh crore each to make up for the total cost. 

“Today, the condition of our government schools is not good. Our second guarantee is that we will arrange good and excellent free education for everyone. Government schools will provide a better education than private schools. We have done it in Delhi and Punjab. Rs 5 lakh crore will be required for this. State governments will give Rs 2.5 lakh crore and central government will give Rs 2.5 crore for this,” he said. 

The AAP national convener also put a Rs 5 lakh crore price tag to overhaul government hospitals and improve India’s healthcare infrastructure. 

“The condition of our government hospital is not good in our country. Our third guarantee is better healthcare. We will arrange good treatment for everyone. Mohalla clinics will be opened in every village, every locality. District hospital will be converted into a Multispeciality Hospital. Every person born in this country will get free treatment. Treatment will not be done on the basis of insurance as this is a big scam. We will create infrastructure. Rs 5 lakh crore rupees will be spent on healthcare,” Mr Kejriwal said. 

Other guarantees on the list, according to Mr Kejriwal, are “freeing” Indian land from Chinese control, shutting down the Agniveer scheme, providing farmers MSP as per the Swaminathan Commission report and a full statehood to Delhi. 

“Our fourth guarantee is ‘Nation first’. China has occupied our land but our central govt is denying it…There is a lot of strength in our army. All the land of the country which has been occupied by China will be freed. For this, efforts will be made at the diplomatic level on one side and the Army will be given complete freedom to take whatever steps it wants to take regarding this. A scheme like Agniveer is harmful for the army and the youth are also troubled by it. The Agniveer scheme will be withdrawn,” Mr Kejriwal said. 

Mr Kejriwal, who was arrested by the probe agency Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam case, was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court on Friday.

Mumbai:

In the Opposition meeting in Mumbai today, members of the INDIA alliance are expected to finalise a logo, a coordination committee, and a joint action plan to take on the ruling BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Ahead of their third round of discussions, several leaders of the opposition INDIA bloc exuded confidence that they would prove to be a formidable opponent for the government.  

As many as 63 representatives from 28 political parties will attend the meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) on August 31 and September 1 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Mumbai.

Among the top agendas at the meeting will be choosing a logo for the alliance and also setting up a committee to enhance the coordination between all the member parties.

The opposition alliance is also likely to hold discussions on whether to have a convenor or not and a joint action schedule for the 2024 elections.

Several chief ministers and senior leaders including Mamata Banerjee and Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad have already arrived in Mumbai.

Arvind Kejriwal, Bhagwant Mann, Nitish Kumar, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi will land in Mumbai today, after which all the members will attend a dinner hosted by Uddhav Thackeray.

Addressing a press conference, NCP leader Sharad Pawar said he has confidence that the opposition alliance will provide a formidable alternative to bring about a political change in the country. He said there has been no discussion on seat sharing within the INDIA alliance.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, asked about their PM candidate, said, “India will be our PM face. Our primary concern is to save the country,” she said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders want this to be the last meeting of the Opposition alliance, so that the parties could start working in their respective states.

The BJP-led Maharashtra government has also announced a 2-day meeting to conduct a review of all the Lok Sabha seats in the state. Maharashtra has 48 Lok Sabha seats.