PANAJI
A defensive BJP on Wednesday rejected a charge made by media persons, that the party's government was rattled by the populist announcements made by the Aam Aadmi Party ahead of the 2022 state assembly polls, with BJP general secretary Damu Naik even likening the strategy to allot doles and financial promises to people to the phenomenon of religious conversions.
"Today, everyone thinks the government should look after people from birth to death. The poor and marginalised are pulled closer, through doles. Why just this... let me clear other issues. Why do (religious) conversions or other such things happen? It happens because of doles and assessment of their economic hardships. What does this mean? Should one look at the government in one way and towards such things in another? It is not right," Naik told a press conference in Panaji.
At the press conference which was convened to slam AAP national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's promise of 80 per cent job guarantee to domiciled Goans and unemployment doles, Naik said that the announcements were mere entertainment for the residents of poll-bound Goa.
But when he was asked repeatedly by media persons as to why the BJP had reacted to AAP's promise of free power with an announcement of free water to domestic consumers, Naik rejected the media insinuation and insisted that the Kejriwal-led party was trying to fool Goans.
"They are trying to fool people. They have promised 80 per cent reservation in jobs, but there is already reservation of jobs (for locals) in the private sector. AAP should not cheat people and people should not get cheated. AAP has no standing in Goa. In some cases, they will try to get the negative votes," Naik said.
The BJP general secretary also said that replicating the Delhi AAP model in Goa was not practical, because Delhi was a national capital and a union territory, whose budgetary finances were not funded via taxes collected from the state government alone.
"Delhi model is different and the Goa model is different. Goa budget is Rs 20,000 crore and Delhi budget is Rs 70,000 crore. A Swayampurna state is being challenged by AAP, by a union territory. People of Goa are not fools. This is entertainment," Naik said.
"Their budget is Rs 70,000 crore. It is like 'tujya bapaiche kide voita' (whose father what goes)," Naik said.
The former Fatorda MLA also said that the AAP government in Delhi had failed to provide mass government jobs in Delhi, adding that for a population of 2.7 crores "only 400 to 500" government jobs were created by the Aam Aadmi Party.
He also said that the Rs 5,000 dole promised by AAP to families who have lost employment due to Covid, would be a temporary affair and challenged the party's Delhi government to emulate populist social welfare schemes enacted by the BJP-led coalition government in Goa.
"Our government has made a provision for people who have lost livelihoods due to Covid, by creating a budgetary provision of Rs 25 crore. It is being disbursed by the Social Welfare department. BJP has never turned back on its words. AAP leaders should answer whether Delhi has the Ladli Laxmi scheme, is the Griha Aadhar there in Delhi, does Delhi have the Dayanand Social Security Scheme? All schemes have lakhs of beneficiaries," he said.
