New Delhi: Once a part of the Anna Hazare movement with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal, 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 New Delhi constituency, the most discussed and talked about this elections. He is pitted against the likes of Kejriwal, BJP's Pravesh Verma and Congress' Sandeep Dixit. Dr Raizada talked to ETV Bharat on 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 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 in 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 member of Indian Liberal Party and cast their votes by pressing the button on our election symbol, Dustbin," he said.
Dr Raizada accused Kejriwal of startintg 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 will 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 law maker 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.
On women's safety in Delhi, Dr Raizada said the Aam Aadmi Party did not do anything to ensure that women safe in the capital. "They (AAP) had promised to install CCTVs at every street. People told us that CCTVs have been installed but they do not work. Bus marshals were deployed in buses for women's safety but the practice has been discontunued. BLP will give priority to women's safety and will not distribute free sweets among them like other parties," he said. Dr Raizada said BJP will contest from the 70 Assembly seats from Delhi and candidates for the majority of them have already been announced.
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