All 67 AAP MLAs are ready to work from Tihar: Kejriwal to Modi

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "blocking" AAP government's development even as he mockingly said that all 67 party MLAs were ready to work from inside Tihar jail, in an apparent reference to the arrest of three lawmakers in various cases.

"In six months they have arrested three of our MLAs. But we have 64 more MLAs and at this pace they won't be able to arrest all of us even in 10 years. Delhi Police is after our MLAs, it has no time for people's security. I have told them, all of us will surrender and work from Tihar," he said.

Kejriwal, who has been relentless in targeting the Prime Minister politically over the last few months, was addressing an event organised to launch work for the upgrade of Burari hospital's from 200 beds to 800 beds, as planned earlier.

Referring to the tussle pertaining to authority over the government's Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), he alleged Modi had "captured" it using paramilitary officers on June 8.

Since then, AAP's fight against graft has come to an abrupt end, he said.
"BJP, whom you had given three seats, is after taking revenge. They spend 24-hour a day thinking how to stall our work. In our fight against corruption we had arrested more than 50 officers till June 8.

"But on that day Modi sent paramilitary forces and captured our ACB. In the last two months, there has not been a single arrest. Either let us work or you work. Take the ACB from us but do something Modiji," Kejriwal said.

Kejriwal also invoked AAP's public rhetoric saying "he (Modi) continued to trouble us as is his habit, while we (AAP) continued to work."

The Delhi CM also used the occasion to apprise people of the "unprecedented" work done by his government in the health, and power sectors, in giving compensation to farmers, in developing unauthorised colonies in first six months in office.

"The amount of work we have done in six months is unprecedented. No government in independent India's history has done this much work in six months...we have opened air conditioned dispensary within six months of forming government in a slum area. This was not imaginable before. 15 such clinics would be opened in the Burari constituency," he said.

About the upcoming hospital, the Chief Minister and Delhi Health Minister Satyender Jain, who was also present on the occasion, claimed that the previous government had decided to hand over the land to a private group.

"The erstwhile government had decided to give it to a private company but the locals protested. AAP has increased the number of beds from 200 to 800 instead and the massive upgrade requires only Rs 270 crore," Kejriwal said, adding 250 beds would be made operational within next eight months and it would become fully operational by next year.

"There will not be any issue in acquiring land if you convince the people that you are taking land for development. The government has no lack of money but intention has to be there," he said.

He also made a pitch to the public to vote for AAP in the MCD elections, due in 2017.     "Please vote for us with as much gusto in the MCD elections as well."