"Kick Me Out If I Don't...": Arvind Kejriwal On Schools In Gujarat

Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal today made another pitch for change in Gujarat, offering the governance model that has been hugely successful in Delhi and more recently, in Punjab. Citing the Delhi schools in Gujarat's Bharuch -- where tribals form a chunk of the population -- he claimed the condition of schools in Gujarat is really bad.

"There are 6,000 government schools in Gujarat, which have been shut. Many others are in dilapidated conditions. The future of lakhs of children has been disrupted. We can change this future. The way we changed schools in Delhi," the Delhi Chief Minister said.

There was also a challenge thrown in for his Gujarat counterpart Bhupendra Patel.

"The BJP is making world record in paper leaks during examinations in Gujarat. I challenge Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel to hold a single examination without a paper leak," he said.

Then he told the people, "Give us one chance. If I do not improve the schools in this chance you can kick me out".

Claiming that 4 lakh students in Delhi shifted from private schools to schools run by the Delhi government, he said, "In Delhi, the kids of the rich and the poor are studying together. There has been a 99.7% pass percentage in Delhi this time".

After its first successful foray outside Delhi, wresting Punjab from the Congress, Mr Kejriwal is targeting the tribal areas where the Congress holds sway in state the BJP has been ruling for 27 years. In the 2017 assembly elections, the Congress has won 15 of the state's 27 tribal dominated seats.

Last month, AAP had claimed that its internal survey found that the party is likely to win around 58 seats in Gujarat in the assembly elections due later this year. The survey, AAP said, indicated that the votes are likely to come from rural areas and the lower and middle-class segments in urban areas.

At the rally today, Mr Kejriwal noted that while more than 1 crore tribals live in Gujarat, the country's two richest men and the poorest tribals -- both come from the state.

"On one hand the BJP and the Congress are standing with the rich and making them richer. But I am here to tell you all that we stand with the poor," he said.

As a mark of it, he said his first public rally since his party won the mega victory in Punjab is being held from a tribal area. "Tribals have been exploited for a long time. They were first exploited by the British and they are being exploited even now… We are a party of common man and not the rich," he added.