NEW DELHI: A day ahead of voting for the Delhi assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday took swipes at Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal as he renewed his “sheesh mahal” and “AAP-da” attack to target the former Delhi chief minister.
“These days there are talks on social media about leaders focussed on jacuzzi, stylish showers, but our focus is on providing water to every home,” Prime Minister said in his reply to Motion of Thanks on President’s address in Lok Sabha.
The Prime Minister’s reference was to BJP’s allegations of opulence against former Delhi chief minister Kejriwal, who has been accused of spending crores for the renovation of his official bungalow. “Sheesh mahal” is a political moniker used by the BJP for 6, Flagstaff Road bungalow occupied earlier by Kejriwal as Delhi chief minister to accuse him of “corruption”.
The Prime Minister did not stop at that. He later doubled down on his attack as he said “Govt schemes saved lot of money, but we did not use it to build ‘sheesh mahal.’ Pain of poor, troubles of common man, cannot be understood just like that; it requires passion, some just don’t have it.”
“We believe in spending resources towards public welfare; our model dovetails savings and development,” PM Modi added. “We believe in spending resources towards public welfare; our model dovetails savings and development,” PM Modi added.
The Prime Minister also used the term “AAP-da” in his Lok Sabha address. “We are focusing on youth but some people are betraying them. This group, during elections promises many things but doesn’t fulfil them. This group is an ‘AAP-da’ on the future of the youth,” the Prime Minister said. PM Modi had first used the term “AAP-da” during campaigning for Delhi assembly elections to refer to the ruling Aam Aadmi Party and alleging that they had brought difficulty to the people of Delhi.
“Sheesh mahal” was one of the central themes of BJP’s campaigning in Delhi with Prime Minister Modi and all other BJP leaders using it to attack Kejriwal on the issue of corruption. The party had released a song “Sheesh Mahal Aapda Failane Walon Ka Adda” and a poster titled “Aapda-e-Azam”.
The AAP has hit back at the BJP citing expenditure on the residence and plane used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.