Fresh War Of Words Ensues Between BJP And AAP Over Freebies Schemes

New Delhi, August 11: Tussle between Aam Aadmi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party becomes murkier after the latter accuses AAP of giving away freebies to everyone for political gains. On Thursday, BJP leader and party spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said that some parties are engaging in "revdi culture" by misusing taxpayer's money.

Shehzad Poonawalla said, "Revdi culture is about dishing out lollipops for political gains and it makes no transformation to people's lives. It misuses taxpayers' money with the rich benefiting at the cost of the poor."

Replying to the accusation of promoting freebies for political gains, AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been piling on taxes on the masses but waving it off for the rich.

The war of words between the two parties erupted after Prime Minister Modi's comments on July 16 when he cautioned people against what he called a "revdi (sweet) culture" under which votes were sought by promising freebies, that this could be "very dangerous" for development of the country.

While Kejriwal has claimed that his "free" government's programmes helped people come out of poverty and ensured quality services like health and education reached the poorest of the poor. On the other hand, BJP leaders Poonawalla caution that there is a difference between welfare policies and revdi politics.

Speaking at the BJP headquarters here in New Delhi, Poonawalla said, "I am here to expose the free education model of Arvind Kejriwal. Kejriwal's mantra is Vigyapan par zor, Vyavastha me kamjor (Focus on advertisements, weak on governance). Kejriwal's revdi model means that of the 500 schools and 20 colleges promised, none have been delivered. This is the revdi culture we caution against."

Comparing AAP to TMC's Partha Chatterjee, Poonawalla further stated that Kejriwal was only protecting his 'Parthas' and said that AAP ministers like Satyendra Jain and Manish Sisodia faced serious allegations. Satyendra Jain has been arrested over money laundering charges. BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia also made scathing remarks against Kejriwal saying that the tax money collected by the central government does not go to the house of any Satyendra Jain and Manish Sisodia.

Kejriwal made several allegations against the central government including a claim that the government has waived off Rs. 5 lakh crores worth of taxes of big companies. The said allegation, however, has been refuted by BJP leader Amit Malviya and said that the centre is providing free food to 80 crore people in India.

In a series of tweets, Malviya debunked Kejriwal's claims, saying" Brazen lies by Arvind Kejriwal: - Center hasn't waived off loans but recovered 6.5 lakh crore since 2014-15. Nowhere has Center said that Agniveer is to cut pension bill. Modi Govt has all the money for our Armed Forces… No tax on loose food items. States levied VAT earlier."