New Delhi, Mar 12 (IANS): Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday urged voters in the national capital to vote to make Delhi a full state.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said that Delhi, despite being the second highest tax contributor in the country, gets only a fraction of what other states get from the central government.
"Till now people of Delhi have voted to choose a Prime Minister. This time it will vote for full statehood. For 70 years, injustice has been done to Delhi. For 70 years, it has faced exploitation and given a step-motherly treatment," Kejriwal told the media here.
"After Bombay, Delhi pays the highest amount in taxes, 1.5 lakh crore. And it gets only Rs 385 crore from the central government. A small state like Goa, the population of which is only 15 lakh, gets Rs 3,200 crore from the Centre. Delhi with a population of 2 crore gets only Rs 385 crore. Gujarat gets Rs 85,000 crore and Uttar Pradesh gets Rs 1.5 lakh crore. When we ask why, they say because Delhi is not a full state. Then why have you kept it a half state?" he asked.
The Chief Minister also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of hypocracy by promising that it will grant full statehood to Delhi during the last election but then going back on the promise.
He said because Delhi was not a full state and doesn't have law and order under its ambit, crimes, especially against women, have increased.
"If Delhi is made a full state, I promise you we will ensure that each woman is able to go out even at 11 at night without fear. We had also demanded reservation up to 85 per cent for Delhi citizens in Delhi government jobs but even this proposal was rejected," he said.
On education, he said because the Delhi government had no power to open new universities, the students of Delhi cannot get admission despite scoring 95 per cent marks.
"We want 85 per cent of seats in Delhi universities to be reserved for Delhi students. Once we have full statehood we won't have to take permission from anyone to open new universities and colleges."