Kejriwal targets BJP on Morbi bridge crash, seeks mandate for AAP in Gujarat polls

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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said whatever happened to the victims of the Morbi footbridge collapse can happen to anybody in the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)-ruled Gujarat and sought to know why the owners of the private firm that renovated the ill-fated carriageway were not booked for the tragedy.

Stepping up campaigning for the December 1 and 5 Assembly polls, he urged the people of Gujarat to give a chance to his outfit Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to rule the state for five years.

Addressing people at roadshows in Rajkot city and Kalavad near here organised as part of his poll campaigning, the AAP convener said it was sad to see there was an attempt to save the company which renovated the bridge and its owners as they have not been even named in the FIR (first information report) related to the crash.

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"Shouldn't the owners of the company which renovated the Morbi bridge be arrested? They have not even named the company and its owners in the FIR. Why was there an attempt to save them? It is sad to see this. There were 55 children out of the 135 who died (in the October 30 tragedy)," Kejriwal said.

"They (the victims) were our own. They were our own children, brothers and sisters. Whatever happened to them today can happen to us, to anybody. Their bridge collapsed yesterday, tomorrow our bridge can collapse," he said.

The AAP leader said the people of Gujarat have let the BJP rule the state for 27 years and urged them to vote for his party in the next month's polls and give it an opportunity to govern for the next five years.

"I will not ask for more than five years. If I do not work in these five years, I will not come to ask for votes. If I tell a lie, I will not ask for votes," he said.

The chief minister said whatever promises he has made to the people of Gujarat in run-up to the polls are on the basis of what AAP governments have done in National Capital Territory of Delhi and Punjab.

"I promise you that I will take the responsibility of your family as a member. After March 1, you will not have to pay electricity bill, I will do it on your behalf as your brother...After March 1, Gujarat will also get 24-hour electricity supply and zero bill. I have done this in Delhi and Punjab, and will do so in Gujarat," the AAP leader claimed.

Kejriwal said people should vote for the BJP if they want "hooliganism, corruption and dirty politics", but back the AAP in the polls if they want schools, hospitals, electricity and water.

"I am an honest, educated person who knows how to establish schools and hospitals," said the activist-turned-politician.

"In Delhi, children of the poor and rich study on the same desk...The responsibility of education of your children will be mine. It is my responsibility to shape the future of your children," Kejriwal said.

Similarly, an AAP government will provide free healthcare whether it is medicine costing Rs 5 or an operation of up to Rs 20 lakh. It will also provide employment, the CM said.

"We have provided jobs to 12 lakh youths in Delhi. I know how to provide jobs. In Gujarat, too, we will provide jobs to all eligible youths and Rs 3,000 monthly unemployment allowance," he said.

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