Panaji, Sep. 22 (IANS): Dubbing the populist poll promises made in Goa by AAP national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as the pitch of a ‘good salesman selling dreams’, the state BJP on Wednesday accused the party of trying to cheat Goans with promises of unemployment doles, job guarantees and free electricity.
“They are good salesmen. They sell dreams. Politicians should not sell dreams, instead they should make dreams come true,” Goa Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary Damu Naik told a press conference on Wednesday.
“The promises made by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) appear to come with an asterisk symbol on a commercial offer or a warning sign on a cigarette packet, which has the actual details in small print, that everyone tends to miss,” Naik also said.
The charge made by the BJP functionary comes a day after Kejriwal during his visit to poll-bound Goa on Tuesday, announced 80 per cent reservation in private sector jobs, INR 3,000 and INR 5,000 doles for the unemployed youth and families who have lost employment due to Covid respectively as well as setting up of a Skill university in the state.
Goa is headed for the Assembly polls in early 2022.
Previously, the AAP had also promised 300 units of electricity free of cost for domestic consumers, while also assuring 24×7 power in the state.
Following the announcement, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant in response had announced free water to the tune of 16,000 litres to every domestic household in the state.
At the press conference, Naik also said that the government largesse was being promised by the AAP because the Kejriwal-led party knows that it cannot come to power in Goa.
“They are trying to fool people. They have promised 80 per cent reservation in jobs, but there is already reservation of jobs (for locals) in the private sector. The AAP should not cheat people and people should not get cheated. AAP has no standing in Goa. In some cases, they will try to get the negative votes,” Naik said.
The ruling party functionary also said that the AAP’s governance model in Delhi, a union territory, could not be replicated in Goa, which is a full-fledged state.
“The Delhi model is different and the Goa model is different.A Goa Budget is INR 20,000 crore and Delhi Budget is INR 70,000 crore. A swayampurna (self reliant) state is being challenged by the AAP by a union territory. People of Goa are not fools. This is entertainment,” Naik said.
