New Delhi: Former BJP MLA Anil Jha on Sunday joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the presence of the party’s national convenor Arvind Kejriwal. Jha, who represented the Kirari Assembly constituency twice as a BJP MLA, switched over his loyalties to AAP at an event in Delhi. This came after Kailash Gahlot, a senior leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and minister in the Delhi Government, quit the AAP.
In his address, Jha expressed gratitude towards those who have championed social justice for Purvanchal, Dalits and backward classes, criticising the party for neglecting the Purvanchal community. He praised Kejriwal’s efforts for unauthorised claims that the AAP is advancing social justice and receiving strong support from communities in Purvanchal, Magadh and Awadh.
"I welcome Anil Jha to AAP. He is one of the leaders, who worked for the people of Purvanchal. Anil Jha is considered one of the biggest leaders of Purvanchal. When people of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar couldn't get a better education and services in their state, they came to Delhi for education and employment. When the DDA failed to build houses for the poor, then illegal colonies were built and a large number of people from Purvanchal lived in them. Both parties (Congress and BJP) have done injustice to the people of Purvanchal. When I became the CM, for the first time I started laying roads, sewers, and water pipelines in illegal colonies. We have laid water pipelines in 1,650 out of 1750 illegal colonies...," Kejriwal said while addressing a press conference.
Kejriwal further accused the Centre of overlooking the Purvanchal community and questioned the BJP about the work done by them for the community.
"There are two governments in Delhi, one is the State government and the other is the Central government. Both have power and resources. The Centre has a lot of money. The Delhi Government is small. The Delhi government has done so much work for the Purvanchal people. Amit Shah and BJP should tell what they did for the people of Purvanchal. They did not have the intention. Why should the Purvanchal community vote for them?... BJP has only cheated people. In the last election, to get the votes of the Purvanchal community, Amit Shah and Hardeep Puri had announced that they were starting registration, but in five years not even a single registration has been done in slum colonies. Although a lot of work still needs to be done, we have worked in the last ten years," he added. (With ANI inputs)
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