AAP holds Vikas Yatras to mark 3 years in power
Our government works towards living up to the expectations, says Delhi convener Gopal Rai
Marking three years in power in the Capital, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday organised Vikas Yatras across all 70 constituencies, highlighting the work done by the AAP government in their tenure.
A procession of bikers and volunteers on-foot, wearing the Aam Aadmi caps and waving the party flag, led the march for Som Dutt, MLA from Sadar Bazar constituency, to the doors of voters who brought them to power through a whopping majority in 2015.
“I keep taking rounds of the constituency and I see the same love in the eyes of my people that I saw when we used to campaign on these streets during the elections. They have let us into their homes and into their hearts, and that is what a politician lives for, to serve the people,” Mr. Dutt said.
The series of marches was conceived and led by AAP’s Delhi convener Gopal Rai, who is also the MLA from Babarpur. He started his march in noon from Babarpur bus terminal, covering residential areas, junctions and markets in the constituency.
“We wanted to bring our celebrations to the people. We were a bunch of nobodies before the people of Delhi gave us a chance to serve them. Everyday, our government works towards living up to those expectations,” said Mr. Rai.
Major developments
He said that major developments such as providing free water up to 20,000 litres and slashing electricity rates up to 400 units were undertaken by the government within a week of the AAP government taking over.
At Mehrauli, former MLA Naresh Yadav, whose fate hangs in the balance that of 19 other MLAs who have been disqualified by the Election Commission in the office-of-profit case, said for people in the lower rung of society, the AAP government has come as a ray of hope.
Education and health
The party leaders also spoke about developments in the field of education and health.
“Delhi has seen tremendous improvement in the field of school education in the last three years. In fact, ours has been the only government which has allocated almost 25% of its budget towards education,” the party said.
Though a lot of their work was recognised and appreciated by residents in several constituencies, in others it was dismissed as a publicity gimmick.
“If the work was genuinely done in the city as these people are claiming then the need to blow their own trumpets would not arise. Work is something that needs to be witnessed and felt by the people, you don’t have to make proclamations,” said Raghuvir Yadav, a resident of west Delhi’s Tilak Nagar.
However, 35-year-old Smita Kumari, a daily labourer from Mundka, said her life had changed after the AAP came to power here. “We are getting free water and electricity. That is a major saving for poor people like us. They would have done a lot more for us but the BJP is not letting [Arvind] Kejriwal work,” she said.
The party will complete three years of governance in Delhi on February 14.
