Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal spoke to Prudent Media on various issues like Covid-19 situation in the national capital, ways Goa can tackle the pandemic, the economy and the future of AAP in Goa
PANAJI
Q: With the collapse of mining and tourism in Goa, how do you think will the State survive?
Arvind Kejriwal (AK): Lockdowns and stopping of economic activities cannot be a solution to tackle Corona. It can only delay Corona, not stop it. Goa government can promote safe tourism by taking all measures to provide safety against the virus. When the rest of the world is closed, Goa can be open to tourism.
As far as mining is concerned, it has to be sustainable. All stakeholders should join hands to for sustainable mining.
Q: What lessons can Goa learn from Delhi vis-a-vis Coronavirus?
AK: We understood that this is a disease that cannot be fought alone. We need collective effort to fight it. We did that. We took the criticism of media and others in the right spirit. We implemented the suggestion that came from all sides. The testing has to be aggressive but the process should be easily accessible. Home isolation is very useful. People are scared to go to quarantine centres. They prefer to self-isolate, which should be allowed.
Keeping oximeters handy helps. We provided 30,000 oximeters to those who had mild symptoms and were home quarantined. Home quarantine helps in easing the burden of hospitals and allows them to take care of seriously ill patients. Plasma therapy is helpful in reducing the number of deaths.
Q: AAP is trying to make inroads into Goa. What has changed since 2017?
AK: The last five years have been quite momentous for the people of Goa. Even though Congress could have formed the government, BJP came to power. The people have been cheated. They are witnessing dirty political drama. The nation has seen the revolutionary performance of AAP in Delhi. The people of Goa want change and ours is the only party that can provide hope.
Q: What can AAP do to be a better contender in Goa?
AK: The elections are contended, fought and won on hope. In our very first election, we succeeded in providing hope to the people who were tired of the entrenched parties. Goans want change and only AAP can provide it.
Q: Is Delhi Covid situation coming to normalcy?
AK: The situation in Delhi became bad in June. During the lockdown period, it was under control. I personally met all the stakeholders, the hospitals, the NGOs, community leaders and with their help the situation was brought under control. Yes, there is slight increase in the number of cases recently, but overall, the situation is stable now.
Q: What is the ground reality of plasma therapy?
AK: Plasma is not a medicine or a cure for Corona. Mild or moderate patients can be prevented from transitioning to a serious state with plasma therapy, but serious patients cannot be saved.
Q: Is there a second wave in Delhi or is it just an increase in the numbers of infections?
AK: I will not call it second wave. Otherwise it would have shown in all parameters. But that has not happened. All parameters are stable. The number of deaths per day in Delhi is very less. The number has come down from 100 to 20 now. Our recovery rate is very high. The hospital beds are still vacant. We increased the number of tests from 20,000 to 40,000 last week in order to identify maximum number of cases and cure them. Hence there is a rise in the number of detected cases.
Q: How is Delhi managing its finances, especially with the Centre refusing to pay the GST compensation to the State?
AK: People are in bad economic condition, with shops shut and the loss of livelihoods. Even if markets are open, the consumption has reduced. With the Centre reneging on its constitutional duty to pay GST compensation, the States are actually in bad financial situation.
Q: Why vote for AAP?
AK: Voting for Congress means voting for BJP. And voting for BJP means voting for corruption. If you don’t want to vote for BJP, vote for Aam Admi Party.
Q: What is the guarantee that your MLAs will not break away tomorrow, like Congress?
AK: So far, our party has succeeded in not letting other parties poach our MLAs, despite rigorous efforts.
Q: What is the reason that we do not have a strong opposition at the Centre?
AK: It’s not that we don’t have a strong opposition; it’s just that we don’t have strong alternatives at the Centre. Can AAP be that alternative? We are a small party, but because of our governance and honest politics in the last five years, AAP has kindled hopes across the country. Will we be able to provide that alternative at the Centre? Only time will tell.
