New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal addressed the assembly on Saturday amid the ongoing budget session and thanked finance minister Atishi for catering to all sectors and all sections of people.

Delhi finance minister Atishi on March 4 presented a ₹76,000 crore budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 themed on the concept of Ram Rajya. In the budget, the Delhi government has announced Rs.1000 per month to all women above 18 in a bid to woo Delhi’s 6.7 million women voters.

Pitching the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a direct challenger to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Kejriwal said that the BJP and AAP came to power around the same time, but both governments showed different models of governance.

“The AAP model is that of Vikas (development) and their (BJP’s) model is of Vinash (destruction),” he said.

The BJP’s model of governance is of destruction themed on crushing the opposing political parties by using central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the AAP chief said.

Kejriwal claimed that while the AAP and other parties work for the betterment of the people, the BJP always try and stop the opposition governments. They are stamping out of opposition parties and involved in toppling of governments, he alleged.

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He alleged that they are buying MLAs by paying huge money. “Rs.25 crore to each MLA in Goa, MP, Arunachal Pradesh and now they are going to topple Himachal Pradesh government. Their strategy is to put the entire opposition in jail”.

Accusing the BJP-led central government of misusing federal investigation agencies, Kejriwal said that if Lord Shri Ram had been around, the BJP would have sent the CBI and ED to him as well.

On the BJP’s claim that they are targeting 370 seats in Lok Sabha, Kejriwal said that the BJP does not need the support of the country’s 1.4 billion people.

“They are going to win 370 because there will be no one in opposition. Hitler had done the same thing. He did it in three months, they took 10 years. They are destroying democracy. It is the betrayal of the country and amounts to sedition,” Kejriwal said.

Earlier in February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed confidence that the National Democratic Alliance will get more than 400 seats, with the BJP winning at least 370 seats in the Lok Sabha elections.

Kejriwal on Monday skipped the eighth summons to appear before the ED for questioning in connection with alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped 2021-22 Delhi excise policy case even as wrote to the federal agency expressing his willingness to appear before it via video conferencing after March 12.

Former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and AAP leader Sanjay Singh are already lodged in jail in connection with the excise case.

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“They have sent me eight summons and are going to send the ninth as if Arvind Kejriwal is the biggest terrorist in the country. The more summons you send, the more schools I will construct. In response to eight summons I will construct eight new schools,” Kejriwal said.

AAP MLAs and ministers who participated in the discussions hailed the budget. Kejriwal further appealed to the people to vote for the AAP model in the upcoming polls.

Meanwhile, the budget session of the Delhi assembly was adjourned till March 15. AAP chief whip in the assembly Dilip Pandey said the session has been extended to discuss the issues and complaints related to the Delhi Jal Board.

Leader of the opposition in Delhi assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri hit out at Kejriwal over ED summons. “Arvind Kejriwal has been making all efforts to avoid the summons of the ED because he is involved in the excise scam. If he has not done any scam, then why is he afraid of appearing before the ED and why is he trying to avoid the questioning?” Bidhuri said.

“From the day the AAP government implemented the excise policy in October 2021, I have been saying that rules were violated and irregularities were committed by them. Kejriwal should stop misleading the people on the excise issue, and appear before the ED,” said Bidhuri.

Budhuri, who has been fielded as the BJP candidate from the South Delhi Lok Sabha seat for the upcoming parliamentary elections, said the AAP budget is a bundle of lies and mere jugglery of numbers. He also alleged that BJP MLAs were not allowed to speak on any matter in the House.