New Delhi: Once a part of the Anna Hazare movement with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal, the President of Bharatiya Liberal Party (BLP) Dr Munish Kumar Raizada is now pitted against him in the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections.
Dr Raizada, who was a practising paediatrician in the USA, is contesting from the New Delhi constituency, the most discussed and talked about in this election. He is pitted against the likes of Kejriwal, BJP's Pravesh Verma and Congress' Sandeep Dixit. Dr Raizada talked to ETV Bharat about his reason for contesting the polls and more.
Dr Raizada said he came back to India 14 years back when the Anna Hazare movement was at its peak. "We felt the felt against corruption the need for Jan Lokpal Bill was necessary. I joined the movement and later became a member of the Aam Aadmi Party. But when he (Arvind Kejriwal) started deviating from his principles, we started opposing him. Then we met Anna Hazare ji and told him that AAP was deviating from the basic principles based on which it was formed. After this, we started the Chanda Band Satyagraha. In 2019, I made a web series called 'Transparency' which narrated the untold stories of the Aam Aadmi Party and the Anna movement," he said. Dr Raizada said he always fought against corruption and this time too it is the most important issue for him. "I believe corruption is an important issue in Indian politics but all parties are ignoring it. We urge people to become a members of Indian Liberal Party and cast their votes by pressing the button on our election symbol, Dustbin," he said.
Dr Raizada accused Kejriwal of starting the Revdi culture (lavishing freebies on voters). He said Kejriwal has sunk into the abyss of corruption in the last 10 years. "Now BJP and Congress have also started doing the same. But this time the situation has got worse. This time all parties are talking about giving money to voters. Kejriwal said he would give Rs 2,100 per month to women, which is not possible. Then former BJP MP Pravesh Verma started distributing Rs 1,100 rupees to women. After this came Dixit. Whose name came up in the Delhi cluster bus scam? He announced to distribute Rs 2,500 among women of Delhi. This is simply called cash for vote. All of them crossed the limits of immorality and started the politics of buying voters. This kind of politics is fatal for the country. In other words, this kind of politics has nothing to do with development politics," he said.
On Bharatiya Liberal Party's main election issues, Dr Raizada said his party believes in development politics. "We give importance to employment and development. As per the Indian Constitution, every citizen of India has the right to equality and liberty. The job of a lawmaker is to work on employment and development in the country. Our party will work on these principles. During our campaigning, we meet several women who say their sons are unemployed even after completing graduation," he said. Dr Raizada said his party we will end corruption in NDMC and provide employment to youth. "Once we assume office, we end corruption. At present, there are many problems in Delhi like pollution, shortage of drinking water, etc the main reason for which is corruption. BLP will work to address such issues," he assured.