What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
DHARAMSHALA: The suspense surrounding the closed-door meeting of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal with staunch party loyalists who have been with him since the Anna Hazare days, has unnerved political circles in Himachal Pradesh.
The meeting held at the breathtakingly beautiful architectural marvel Guleria Villa located at the foothills of the Dauladhar ranges was held immediately after Kejriwal landed in Kangra to hold a rally. He could have stayed anywhere else but for some reasons, this property was selected for Kejriwal’s halt despite the fact it is located around 5 kms away from the airport in an opposite direction from the rally venue.
What aroused interest in the meeting is the fact that even MLAs from Punjab who had arrived to attend the rally were not allowed, and neither were mobile phones.
While details of the party meeting were not leaked out, inside sources told The New Indian that Kejriwal, while instilling confidence among loyalists, told them that they were ‘supreme’. He later gave out instructions to AAP workers from Punjab to assist party workers in Himachal.
Durgesh Pathak, in-charge of the AAP national organisation building team, confirmed that the Delhi chief minister stayed at the property with a few party loyalists. “Kejriwal stopped over there for refreshments with the loyalists en route to the rally venue” he added.
While he had his packed lunch, he was also served Kinnauri apples and special Kangra tea, said sources.
Meanwhile, at the rally, Kejriwal hinted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may opt for early assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal though the reasons that prompted him to say so were unknown.
Stating that the people of Himachal were simple, but the politicians ruling them were bad, he requested, “Give us one opportunity for five years. If we do not work, I will not come back next time to seek votes.”
Venting out his ire against the BJP government in the state, he said Chief Minister Jairam Thakur did not provide a single job during the last four and a half years of his tenure, while AAP in Delhi had given 12 lakh jobs in five years. Promising the same for the people of Himachal, Kejriwal said that AAP, if elected, would offer 20 lakh jobs during the next five years.
