Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal on Monday promised Rs 3,000 monthly unemployment allowance and guaranteed a job to every youth in Gujarat if his party was voted to power in the state in the upcoming Assembly polls.
Kejriwal's new jobs promise comes days after he assured free electricity up to 300 units per month if voted to power in the BJP-ruled state where polls are due by the year-end. Reacting to the BJP's criticism of distributing 'revadi' or freebies to get votes, the Delhi Chief Minister said the ruling party distributes 'revadi' to contractors, their friends and ministers, but he wants to distribute them among the people of the country.
"It is public money, whatever you get free should be for citizens and not for contractors or ministers, he added. Addressing a public rally at Veraval town of Gir Somnath district in the Saurashtra region, the Delhi CM said if the AAP forms a government in Gujarat, his party will ensure that each and every unemployed youth gets a job in the next five years.
"Until we provide them jobs, every jobless youth will get Rs 3,000 per month unemployment allowance," he announced. As part of his party's pre-poll "guarantees," Kejriwal promised to create 10 lakh government job vacancies.
The AAP leader also promised a law to curb leaking of question papers of government recruitment examinations and punish the culprits. There have been several cases in the recent past of question papers of competitive exams getting leaked.
"We will ensure the mafia behind the paper leak gets punished strongly and the system of paper leak stops in Gujarat," he said. The Delhi CM said an AAP government will improve the recruitment process in the cooperative sector and make it transparent so that youths are not placed there via recommendations or bribery as is the case now.
He mentioned a case in Gujarat where a young man recently committed suicide due to joblessness and said youths in the state should wait for another five months for change (in government). Raising the issue of promising freebies on which he has faced flak from the BJP, the AAP leader said his opponents from other parties will abuse him in TV debates that Kejriwal is distributing free revadi.
"You distribute revadi to contractors, your friends and ministers, and take them to the Swiss bank. Kejriwal wants to distribute it among the people of the country. Friends, we will have to stop this system. It is public money, whatever you get free should be for citizens," he said.
The AAP leader said his opponents say that giving free education and health will cause loss to the government exchequer.
"Today, Gujarat has a debt of Rs 3.5 lakh crore. Was I behind this? Has Kejriwal done this? Have they given you any free revadi? Do you get anything for free in Gujarat? They do not, then why this debt? This is because of corruption," he said.
A government does not incur debt because of freebies but because of corruption, he said. "All those who speak against free revadi do so with bad intentions. They want to take all the country's money to the Swiss bank and distribute it among their friends," he said, while calling for a referendum on the issue.
Kejriwal criticized Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel for not visiting in hospitals those who were hospitalized after consuming spurious liquor last week. The Delhi CM was visiting Gujarat when the hooch tragedy, in which over 40 people lost their lives, occurred.
(With PTI Inputs)
