Kejriwal sounds poll bugle in Chhattisgarh

Raipur: Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress of looting Chhattisgarh for the last 23 years and appealed people to give a chance to his party in the state to rid it of corruption and ‘mafia raj’.

He also defended former Delhi deputy CM and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia, who was recently arrested in Delhi excise policy case, calling him a ‘sant’ (saint) and ‘mahatma’ (great soul), and said Prime Minister will face the curse of students and poor people in Delhi for putting him in jail. Sounding the poll bugle for the Assembly elections scheduled in the Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh this year-end, he also asked people to keep their children’s future in mind before casting their votes. He was addressing a rally of AAP workers at Jora ground on the outskirts of capital Raipur.

“Chhattisgarh is a mineral-rich state, but people in the state are struggling with poverty despite being talented and hard-working...Of the last 23 years (after Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh in 2000), BJP ruled for 15 years, while Congress governed it for the remaining period. They did nothing except looting the state. If any of them come to power again, the loot will continue,” he alleged.