Hoshiarpur, May 26 (IANS): Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, campaigning in Punjab's Hoshiarpur, on Sunday appealed to the people to support his party to save the country's democracy and Constitution.
Addressing a public meeting in support of AAP candidate Rajkumar Chabbewal, Kejriwal said this election "is to save the country's democracy and Constitution. This is an election to end dictatorship".
Noting that during the farmers' movement in 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not allow farmers of Punjab to enter Delhi, he said: "This time you press such a button that Modi is out of power in Delhi. In this election, you take revenge for the farmers' agitation from Narendra Modi."
Kejriwal claimed that right after the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP got "me arrested so that I could not campaign".
"They were afraid that if Kejriwal campaigns, the BJP will suffer huge losses in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and many states of the country. But God heard my voice and released me from jail for 20 days to end the dictatorship of the BJP," he asserted.
"The way you strengthened the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab by giving it 92 MLAs, similarly, make us strong at the Centre by giving 13 MPs this time. Then no one will be able to stop Punjab's funds and even the Governor will not be able to stop any bills of Punjab," he said.
"Right now the central government has stopped about eight and a half thousand crore rupees of Punjab. Roads and other development works of Punjab's villages were to be done with that money," he added.
Kejriwal said that even now, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has to fight alone with the Central government and the Governor. "When our 13 MPs win from Punjab, they will all become Bhagwant Mann's hands and voice and will fight with the Central government and the Governor for the rights of Punjab along with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann," he added.
Punjab will go to the polls on June 1 in the seventh and last phase of the Lok Sabha elections.