PANAJI
The running feud between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant scaled another level on Wednesday, with the latter calling the AAP national convenor a 'copymaster', accusing Kejriwal of copying his pilgrimage policy.
Speaking to reporters in Panaji, Sawant also said that his government had already announced a pilgrimage policy in the 2021-22 budget, suggesting that Kejriwal had 'lifted' the concept lock, stock and barrel.
"I had announced it in the budget and my scheme was ready too. My scheme has been notified too. Registration too has begun for those who want to undertake teerthayatra. He copies my schemes. He is habituated to this. He is a copymaster," Sawant said, when asked for a reaction to Kejriwal's most recent promise to Goan voters on November 1.
In his spree of populist promises to poll-bound Goa, Kejriwal had said that Hindus, Muslims and Christians would be allowed to visit a pilgrimage site at state cost, if the Aam Aadmi Party comes to power in the 2022 assembly polls.
"When our government is formed, we will facilitate free pilgrimage to Ayodhya and help them get a darshan of Shri Ram. Christians will get free pilgrimages to Velankanni. Muslims can travel to Ajmer Sharif. I was told that many people in Goa believe in Shirdi, we will offer them pilgrimage to Shirdi too," the Delhi Chief Minister had said.
Sawant however claims that the scheme has been lifted from his budget speech, which had allocated Rs. 2.5 crore for the 'Mukhyamantri Devdarshan Scheme' for senior citizens in association with the Indian Railways' Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, for visiting pilgrimage sites.
"You refer to the scheme in my budget booklet. The scheme has been notified now. He (Kejriwal) has announced this, so that he can claim later that because he made the announcement, we have followed suit. It was highlighted in the budget," Sawant said.
Interestingly, the Delhi government had first announced the pilgrimage scheme for residents of the national capital in its 2018-2019 budget with an allocation of Rs. 53 crore for its implementation, which raises questions about Sawant's claim that he was the first among the two Chief Ministers to come up with the concept.
Sawant and Kejriwal have been at each other's throats, after the latter in September this year had accused Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and the Goa government of duplicating Delhi government's initiatives.
"I believe that whatever is happening in Delhi, he (Sawant) is copying it in Goa. When the original is available, why do you need a duplicate? When the people of Goa can vote for the original, why do you need a duplicate? The duplicate person will end up doing gadbad (confusion)," Kejriwal had said.
After the AAP announced free power to the tune of 300 units to domestic households in the state, the BJP-led coalition government in Goa had subsequently announced 16,000 free litres of water in every household.
