NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI/AHMEDABAD, SEP 26
Aam Aadmi Party Convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Monday received Dalit sanitation worker Harsh Solanki at his Delhi residence. Solanki gifted him a picture of BR Ambedkar. In pictures from the meeting, the Delhi Chief Minister was seen hugging his special guest.
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) September 26, 2022
AAP had also welcomed him at the airport to take him to Kejriwal’s residence for lunch. Raghav Chadha, AAP’s Gujarat co-incharge, was seen greeting Solanki and his family at the airport with folded hands.
ખરા અર્થમાં આમ આદમીની પાર્ટી!
આજરોજ ગુજરાતના સફાઈ કર્મચારી તરીકે કામ કરતા દલિત યુવાન હર્ષ સોલંકી અને એમના પરિવારે દિલ્લી CM નિવાસે મુખ્યમંત્રીશ્રી @ArvindKejriwal જી સાથે મુલાકાત કરી. pic.twitter.com/kV4dYEMIEH
— AAP Gujarat (@AAPGujarat) September 26, 2022
“Had never thought this would happen, feels like we are dreaming with our eyes open. I have never met any leader, and today we are going to a Chief Minister’s house. We expect AAP to work for the welfare of the Valmiki community in Gujarat,” Solanki, accompanied by his mother and younger sister, said.
ઐતિહાસિક ક્ષણ!
ગુજરાતના સફાઈ કામદાર અને દલિત યુવાન હર્ષ સોલંકી તથા તેમના પરિવારે દિલ્હી મુખ્યમંત્રીશ્રી @ArvindKejriwal તથા તેમના પરિવાર સાથે મુખ્યમંત્રી નિવાસે ભોજન ગ્રહણ કર્યું. pic.twitter.com/M0Ajf0cZSf
— AAP Gujarat (@AAPGujarat) September 26, 2022
Ruling BJP and opposition Congress on Monday dubbed the lunch hosted for a sanitation worker from Gujarat by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a “political stunt” and accused him of “hypocrisy” instead of taking care of Dalits living in Ahmedabad.
Kejriwal is not a well-wisher of Dalits and sanitation workers, charged BJP MLA and leader of opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri.
He said even the status of Corona warrior was not extended to sanitation workers during the pandemic.
Gujarat के Harsh Solanki व उनका परिवार, Delhi में @ArvindKejriwal जी से मिलने रवाना हो चुके हैं। pic.twitter.com/wACv3cdeam
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) September 26, 2022
“About 82 per cent of the amount allocated for the welfare of these sanitation workers in the Delhi government budget was not spent. Now by inviting a Dalit of Gujarat to Delhi, AAP is indulging in gimmick and hypocrisy,” he charged.
The Kejriwal government neither considered sanitation workers as corona warriors nor released Rs one crore rupees compensation each to those who died during different waves of the COVID-19, he alleged.
In Delhi government’s budget, Rs 433,65 crore was allocated for various schemes for SC, ST and OBC people in 2020-21. This allocation was reduced to Rs 268.52 crore out of which only over 18 per cent was spent. The expenditure on these schemes was only 32.28 crore of the allocated Rs 425.13 crore in 2021-22, he claimed.
Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar also termed the AAP convener’s move to invite a Dalit family from Gujarat for lunch at his residence a “political stunt” to “mislead the Dalit community.”.
“Many Dalit sanitation workers serving during Covid pandemic died due to the virus in Delhi but the Kejriwal government did not honour its commitment of giving Rs 1 crore compensation to the kin of the deceased,” he claimed.
“Kejriwal was playing vote-bank politics to fool the people ahead of Assembly polls in Gujarat,” he charged.
