By PTI
AHMEDABAD: Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal on Monday night had dinner at an auto-rickshaw driver’s home in Ahmedabad after accepting his invitation, but the event was preceded by high drama after the Delhi CM got into a heated argument with police officials outside his hotel over security protocols.
Kejriwal, accompanied by a couple of AAP leaders, travelled to the auto-rickshaw driver’s home in his three-wheeler.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), reacting to the dinner invite, took potshots at the AAP leader and dubbed him an “actor”.
Before heading for dinner, Kejriwal had a heated argument with some police officials outside a five-star hotel where he is staying over security protocols as the chief minister was not ready to take along policemen with him to the house of his host – auto-rickshaw driver Vikram Dantani.
Kejriwal, who is on a two-day Gujarat visit as part of the AAP’s campaign for the upcoming Assembly polls, addressed a gathering of auto-rickshaw drivers in Ahmedabad in the afternoon.
After his address, auto-rickshaw driver Dantani, a resident of the city’s Ghatlodia area, requested Kejriwal to have dinner at his home.
“I am your fan. In a video I saw on social media, you went to have dinner at the home of an auto driver in Punjab. So, will you come to my home for dinner?” asked Dantani.
The Delhi CM immediately replied in the affirmative to the invitation.
“Autowalas of Punjab and Gujarat love me. Should I come today evening? at 8 pm,” said the AAP leader.
Dantani agreed when Kejriwal urged him to pick him up from his hotel and take him to his house in his auto-rickshaw.
As agreed, Dantani reached the five-star hotel on Sindhu Bhavan Road to pick up the Delhi CM late in the evening.
Gujarat AAP president Gopal Italia and the party’s national joint general secretary, Isudan Gadhvi, also sat in Dantani’s auto-rickshaw with the Delhi CM.
After the argument over security protocols, a police official sat beside the auto-rickshaw driver, while two police cars escorted the three-wheeler till Ghatlodia.
Kejriwal and other state AAP leaders had dinner while sitting on the floor in Dantani’s modest house.
Taking a jibe at Kejriwal, Gujarat Minister of State for Home and BJP leader Harsh Sanghvi, while reacting to a video of dinner invitation earlier in the day, tweeted, “What an actor”!
Kejriwal on Monday alleged probe agencies were being used to conduct raids for “extortion” and not to end corruption as he held town hall meetings with a cross-section of people, including auto-rickshaw drivers, during his latest visit to poll-bound Gujarat.
Besides auto-rickshaw drivers, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener interacted with advocates and businesspersons at town hall meetings and made a slew of promises to them and assured to fulfil them if his party is voted to power in Gujarat, where Assembly polls are due by the year-end.
Expanding his party’s outreach, Kejriwal, who is on a two-day visit to the state, promised a monthly stipend for new lawyers in Gujarat and a strong mechanism for their protection if the AAP forms a government after polls.
He also promised auto-rickshaw drivers in the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state to bring Regional Transport Office (RTO) services to their doorsteps to check corruption and to shield them from harassment.
He urged the business sector in the state to support the AAP in the Assembly polls as a victory would mean the AAP will have three chief ministers (in Delhi, Gujarat and Punjab), which will allow its voice to be heard by the Centre for simplification of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
In a swipe at the Centre, Kejriwal alleged that probe agencies were being used to conduct raids for “extortion” and not to end corruption.
He said the country cannot progress until businessmen are free from the fear of raids, while interacting with a group of businessmen at another town hall.
The AAP government will be corruption-free, will ensure people do business without fear of raids and also work towards simplification of the GST process at the state and central levels, the Delhi CM maintained.
Speaking about the purported raid conducted by “three policemen” at the AAP’s office in Ahmedabad on Sunday, Kejriwal claimed the policemen were enquring about money.
“We are a poor party with no money. The policemen searched our office for two hours and left. They were asking our people about money. They left when we said there was no money. Today, the Ahmedabad police said no raid took place. This is surprising,” he said.
The Ahmedabad police had refuted the AAP’s claim that its office was raided on Sunday.
In an interaction with a group of advocates in Ahmedabad, Kejriwal said he will study the Kerala government’s scheme to pay a monthly stipend to young lawyers and will come up with a scheme better than the southern state.
“I think Delhi is the only state where electricity for the court chambers of lawyers is free. They had two other demands – namely life and health insurance cover – for which we have framed a very liberal policy,” he said.
The total cost of providing health and life insurance cover to lawyers is Rs 40 crore-50 crore for the Delhi administration, “which is not a big amount for a government”, the chief minister said.
He promised strict implementation of the Advocates’ Protection Act in Gujarat if the AAP wins elections in the state, where the BJP is ensconced in power for nearly three decades now.
Kejriwal said auto-rickshaw drivers had played a vital role in his victory in the Delhi elections and urged them to do the same by promoting the AAP among their passengers and through social media.
The CM said his government in Delhi paid Rs 5,000 each to nearly 1.5 lakh drivers twice during the coronavirus-induced lockdowns.
“In Delhi, you do not need to go to the RTO (Regional Transport Office) for works like a renewal of licence, change of ownership, permit, or hypothecation (pledging an asset to the bank while applying for loan).”
“We have given a phone number. Give a call and a Delhi government officer will come to your doorstep. You will get your licence renewed in the same way you order a pizza on phone,” Kejriwal said.
During his earlier visits to Gujarat, the AAP had made a slew of pre-poll promises related to free power, quality education, dole for unemployed youths, job creation and allowance for women, among others.
Kejriwal on Monday promised a monthly stipend for new lawyers in Gujarat and a strong mechanism for their protection if the AAP forms a government after polls, due in December this year.
Interacting with a group of advocates in Ahmedabad, Kejriwal said he will study the Kerala government’s scheme to pay a monthly stipend to young advocates and will come up with a scheme better than the southern state.
He assured free electricity to the court chambers of lawyers in Gujarat on the lines of Delhi and said a “very liberal policy” has been framed in view of lawyers’ demand for health and life insurance cover.
“I understood that till now, whatever we did for advocates in Delhi was the best. Just now I learnt that Kerala has gone ahead of me. I had no idea about the Kerala scheme (of paying a monthly stipend to young lawyers),” the Delhi chief minister said when a lawyer pointed out this in a town hall.
Kejriwal said he will also study the Kerala scheme.
“I assure you that we will provide you with a better scheme than Kerala. We will also fulfil the demand for granting automatic stature of a notary to lawyers who completed 10 years of practice (in Gujarat)”, the AAP leader said.
Kejriwal said lawyers’ chambers are getting free electricity in Delhi.
“I think Delhi is the only state where electricity for the court chambers of lawyers is free. They had two other demands namely life and health insurance cover, for which we have framed a very liberal policy,” he said, adding that the total cost of providing health and life insurance cover to lawyers is Rs 40-50 crore for the Delhi government, “which is not a big amount for a government”.
He promised the implementation of the Advocates’ Protection Act in Gujarat if AAP comes to power.
“As you say the draft is ready, we will strengthen it if required. The law will have to be strengthened along with the police machinery. We will bring a law for the protection of lawyers and a system. These things do not cost too much,” he said.
AHMEDABAD: Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal on Monday night had dinner at an auto-rickshaw driver’s home in Ahmedabad after accepting his invitation, but the event was preceded by high drama after the Delhi CM got into a heated argument with police officials outside his hotel over security protocols.
Kejriwal, accompanied by a couple of AAP leaders, travelled to the auto-rickshaw driver’s home in his three-wheeler.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), reacting to the dinner invite, took potshots at the AAP leader and dubbed him an “actor”.
Before heading for dinner, Kejriwal had a heated argument with some police officials outside a five-star hotel where he is staying over security protocols as the chief minister was not ready to take along policemen with him to the house of his host – auto-rickshaw driver Vikram Dantani.
Kejriwal, who is on a two-day Gujarat visit as part of the AAP’s campaign for the upcoming Assembly polls, addressed a gathering of auto-rickshaw drivers in Ahmedabad in the afternoon.
After his address, auto-rickshaw driver Dantani, a resident of the city’s Ghatlodia area, requested Kejriwal to have dinner at his home.
“I am your fan. In a video I saw on social media, you went to have dinner at the home of an auto driver in Punjab. So, will you come to my home for dinner?” asked Dantani.
The Delhi CM immediately replied in the affirmative to the invitation.
“Autowalas of Punjab and Gujarat love me. Should I come today evening? at 8 pm,” said the AAP leader.
Dantani agreed when Kejriwal urged him to pick him up from his hotel and take him to his house in his auto-rickshaw.
As agreed, Dantani reached the five-star hotel on Sindhu Bhavan Road to pick up the Delhi CM late in the evening.
Gujarat AAP president Gopal Italia and the party’s national joint general secretary, Isudan Gadhvi, also sat in Dantani’s auto-rickshaw with the Delhi CM.
After the argument over security protocols, a police official sat beside the auto-rickshaw driver, while two police cars escorted the three-wheeler till Ghatlodia.
Kejriwal and other state AAP leaders had dinner while sitting on the floor in Dantani’s modest house.
Taking a jibe at Kejriwal, Gujarat Minister of State for Home and BJP leader Harsh Sanghvi, while reacting to a video of dinner invitation earlier in the day, tweeted, “What an actor”!
Kejriwal on Monday alleged probe agencies were being used to conduct raids for “extortion” and not to end corruption as he held town hall meetings with a cross-section of people, including auto-rickshaw drivers, during his latest visit to poll-bound Gujarat.
Besides auto-rickshaw drivers, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener interacted with advocates and businesspersons at town hall meetings and made a slew of promises to them and assured to fulfil them if his party is voted to power in Gujarat, where Assembly polls are due by the year-end.
Expanding his party’s outreach, Kejriwal, who is on a two-day visit to the state, promised a monthly stipend for new lawyers in Gujarat and a strong mechanism for their protection if the AAP forms a government after polls.
He also promised auto-rickshaw drivers in the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state to bring Regional Transport Office (RTO) services to their doorsteps to check corruption and to shield them from harassment.
He urged the business sector in the state to support the AAP in the Assembly polls as a victory would mean the AAP will have three chief ministers (in Delhi, Gujarat and Punjab), which will allow its voice to be heard by the Centre for simplification of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
In a swipe at the Centre, Kejriwal alleged that probe agencies were being used to conduct raids for “extortion” and not to end corruption.
He said the country cannot progress until businessmen are free from the fear of raids, while interacting with a group of businessmen at another town hall.
The AAP government will be corruption-free, will ensure people do business without fear of raids and also work towards simplification of the GST process at the state and central levels, the Delhi CM maintained.
Speaking about the purported raid conducted by “three policemen” at the AAP’s office in Ahmedabad on Sunday, Kejriwal claimed the policemen were enquring about money.
“We are a poor party with no money. The policemen searched our office for two hours and left. They were asking our people about money. They left when we said there was no money. Today, the Ahmedabad police said no raid took place. This is surprising,” he said.
The Ahmedabad police had refuted the AAP’s claim that its office was raided on Sunday.
In an interaction with a group of advocates in Ahmedabad, Kejriwal said he will study the Kerala government’s scheme to pay a monthly stipend to young lawyers and will come up with a scheme better than the southern state.
“I think Delhi is the only state where electricity for the court chambers of lawyers is free. They had two other demands – namely life and health insurance cover – for which we have framed a very liberal policy,” he said.
The total cost of providing health and life insurance cover to lawyers is Rs 40 crore-50 crore for the Delhi administration, “which is not a big amount for a government”, the chief minister said.
He promised strict implementation of the Advocates’ Protection Act in Gujarat if the AAP wins elections in the state, where the BJP is ensconced in power for nearly three decades now.
Kejriwal said auto-rickshaw drivers had played a vital role in his victory in the Delhi elections and urged them to do the same by promoting the AAP among their passengers and through social media.
The CM said his government in Delhi paid Rs 5,000 each to nearly 1.5 lakh drivers twice during the coronavirus-induced lockdowns.
“In Delhi, you do not need to go to the RTO (Regional Transport Office) for works like a renewal of licence, change of ownership, permit, or hypothecation (pledging an asset to the bank while applying for loan).”
“We have given a phone number. Give a call and a Delhi government officer will come to your doorstep. You will get your licence renewed in the same way you order a pizza on phone,” Kejriwal said.
During his earlier visits to Gujarat, the AAP had made a slew of pre-poll promises related to free power, quality education, dole for unemployed youths, job creation and allowance for women, among others.
Kejriwal on Monday promised a monthly stipend for new lawyers in Gujarat and a strong mechanism for their protection if the AAP forms a government after polls, due in December this year.
Interacting with a group of advocates in Ahmedabad, Kejriwal said he will study the Kerala government’s scheme to pay a monthly stipend to young advocates and will come up with a scheme better than the southern state.
He assured free electricity to the court chambers of lawyers in Gujarat on the lines of Delhi and said a “very liberal policy” has been framed in view of lawyers’ demand for health and life insurance cover.
“I understood that till now, whatever we did for advocates in Delhi was the best. Just now I learnt that Kerala has gone ahead of me. I had no idea about the Kerala scheme (of paying a monthly stipend to young lawyers),” the Delhi chief minister said when a lawyer pointed out this in a town hall.
Kejriwal said he will also study the Kerala scheme.
“I assure you that we will provide you with a better scheme than Kerala. We will also fulfil the demand for granting automatic stature of a notary to lawyers who completed 10 years of practice (in Gujarat)”, the AAP leader said.
Kejriwal said lawyers’ chambers are getting free electricity in Delhi.
“I think Delhi is the only state where electricity for the court chambers of lawyers is free. They had two other demands namely life and health insurance cover, for which we have framed a very liberal policy,” he said, adding that the total cost of providing health and life insurance cover to lawyers is Rs 40-50 crore for the Delhi government, “which is not a big amount for a government”.
He promised the implementation of the Advocates’ Protection Act in Gujarat if AAP comes to power.
“As you say the draft is ready, we will strengthen it if required. The law will have to be strengthened along with the police machinery. We will bring a law for the protection of lawyers and a system. These things do not cost too much,” he said.
