Arvind Kejriwal fails to get appointment with Modi, leaves for Jaipur

Gandhinagar: There was high drama enroute from Gandhinagar to Ahmedabad on Friday with Aam Admi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal suddenly announcing before the media in Ahmedabad that he would like to ask Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi 16 specific questions about the state’s ‘much-touted’ development model.

Kejriwal then promptly left for Gandhinagar with his entourage to meet the chief minister. His trip was eventful, to say the least, as the convoy was stopped before entering Gandhinagar by Gujarat cops, who claimed he did not have an appointment to meet the chief minister.

Kejriwal’s colleague Manish Sisodia was allowed to go ahead for an appointment but was refused. The team then headed back to Ahmedabad from where it took a flight to Jaipur.

Earlier, in a full-on attack on the chief minister, Kejriwal said the reality in Gujarat was in sharp contrast to its development ‘claims’. “There was a lot of talk about how progressive Gujarat is, but what we have seen in the last two days is the exact opposite,” Kejriwal told the media, before marching off to Gandhinagar for an audience. “I would like to meet him and ask these questions. If he doesn’t have time today, I can come back,” Kejriwal had said. “Modi’s claims are white lies,” Kejriwal he said.

Thursday was the last day of Kejriwal’s four-day tour of Gujarat, ‘checking out’ Modi’s claims – a visit that caused clashes between AAP and BJP workers in several states and a brief detention for Kejriwal himself.

Here are some of his questions:

1. Will you allow increase gas prices if you become Prime Minister?

2. Is it true that the Gujarat government is buying solar energy at Rs 15 per unit without a tender?

3. In your tenure, agriculture has contracted by 1 per cent, how can you claim that it has grown 11 percent?

4. Why do small businesses keep shutting? Will you concentrate power in the hands of some big industrial houses? What is your development model?

5. You claim to have wiped out corruption in Gujarat, but people talk about corruption across the state. Why do you make this claim?

6. Your Cabinet is full of ministers who have criminal records. Didn’t you get one honest man among six crore Gujaratis?

7. Do you favour the Ambanis?

8. Unemployment is very high in Gujarat.

9. You hire educated people and pay less. Why?

10. Your colleges are in bad shape. How can you talk of development?

11. The public health system in Gujarat is in the pits. What development do you claim here?

12. Your farmers are unhappy with you. Why? Why is your government so strongly against the farmer community in the state?

13. Over 4 lakh farmers have applied for power connections. Why do they don’t have it?