Arvind Kejriwal Is An Election Bee, Says BJP's Sambit Patra

New Delhi, August 12: Continuing its sharp attack against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Bharatiya Janata Party has termed the AAP supremo as an "election bee". The two parties are embroiled in political banter against each other on the welfare schemes offered by the Delhi state government.

Speaking at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra has said that Kejriwal is fulfilling his ambitions and using freebies as bait to lure people. He also alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party chief has spent more budget on the advertisement of the welfare schemes than the implementation of the programs itself.

"Arvind Kejriwal used to appear on TV and say that there's pollution, so they developed a bio-decomposed chemical. He said it's being sprinkled and it'll make Delhi pollution-free. It was later found that for a chemical worth Rs 60 lakh, advertisements of Rs. 24 crores were done," Patra said.

Patra said that schemes such as Gareeb Kalyan Yojana were launched on the lines of targeted delivery whereas Kejriwal has launched freebies schemes for all with an intention to benefit his political ambitions and establish his political party in the country. He claimed that such schemes offer short-term benefits.

He further said, "In 2015, the Kejriwal led Delhi government came up with the Skill Development Guarantee Scheme. While 89 students applied for loans under the said scheme, only two applicants were provided loans… In an RTI inquiry it was found that Rs. 19.50 crores were spent on the advertisement of this scheme."

Patra also responded to the Delhi Chief Minister's claim that the BJP led central government has benefited the rich by reducing corporate tax on the rich. He claimed that the corporate tax collection in the financial year 2018-19, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, was Rs. 6.63 lakh crore and whereas the collection in the financial year 2021-22 was Rs. 7.01 lakh crores.