Workers of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) held demonstrations across Gujarat to protest Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent remark on "revadi culture" of offering freebies to people for votes.
Several party workers were detained in Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot and Vadodara, when they staged agitations against Modi's warning to people about what he termed as a "revadi culture" of offering freebies for votes.
The AAP has based its electoral campaign in the poll-bound Gujarat by showcasing the Delhi model of free or highly subsidised services such as electricity bill waiver of up to 200 units.
In his recent townhall, the party's national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said it was possible to provide free electricity to people in Gujarat as well.
Party activists organised dharnas in different cities by holding placards and shouting slogans alleging that the BJP government in the state was using taxpayers' money for "personal fun" and to pass on the benefit of crores of rupees to its "friends".
On the other hand, the Delhi government was providing government services at the doorstep, they said. "The AAP strongly objects to the prime minister's statement. Today, the AAP is the only party in the country which has freed Delhi from debt and at the same time, provided free facilities to people," the Gujarat AAP claimed in a statement.
Kejriwal had responded to the prime minister's statement by saying that his government's schemes for free education, healthcare and electricity were not "freebies", but efforts to lay the foundation for making India the number one country in the world.
The prime minister had used "revadi", a popular north Indian sweet often distributed during festivals, as a metaphor for freebies being promised by various parties in their attempts to come to power, and said the people, especially the youth, should steer clear of it.
