New Delhi, January 30 PTI: With just a week to go before the Delhi Assembly elections, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday appealed to young voters to make the “right choice,” even as he targeted poor roads and water supplies in the national capital.
The Aam Aadmi Party has ruled Delhi since 2015, and the BJP has carried out all-weather efforts to topple its government. Speaking at an interactive session titled “Youth for Viksit Bharat” at Delhi University’s Hansraj College, Jaishankar said Delhi was crucial in realizing the vision of a developed India.
“Without youth, there is no ‘Viksit Bharat.’ Delhi, as the national capital, carries a special responsibility. When people from other countries visit Delhi, their impression of India is shaped by what they see here,” Jaishankar said.
“Viksit Delhi is central to ‘Viksit Bharat’. It should be a model for the country and even beyond,” he added. Jaishankar also rued the lack of civic facilities in the city. In the last five years, I have seen so many issues. Unauthorised colonies have no roads, no regular water supplies,” he said.
In what appeared to be a veiled attack on the AAP-led Delhi government’s welfare policies, the minister criticized the culture of making unfulfilled promises. Asked about his views on freebies, Jaishankar remarked, “If I go around making promises that are not serious, for which I have done no planning and possibly have no intention to deliver them, I call that a freebie.”
The AAP government’s policy of providing free electricity, water, and other welfare services has often been a point of contention, drawing sharp criticism from the BJP. Jaishankar also called on the youth to actively participate in politics, not necessarily as a profession but as informed decision-makers.
If you think something else is important now, then five years later, don’t complain that the roads are not repaired or that bridges are not built. This comes up because you didn’t step forward at the right moment to make the right choice,” the minister said. Don’t take a free pass on your future,” he cautioned students.
The Delhi Assembly elections are scheduled for February 5, where the ruling party will likely face a serious challenge from the opposition. Results will be declared on February 8.
