Gandhinagar, March 8 – Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Convenor Arvind Kejriwal urged the people of Gujarat to reject both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, saying that "the state needed a change in the entire political system rather than simply replacing one party with another".
Addressing a rally in Gandhinagar as part of the "Parivartan Lao, Kisan Bachao Yatra" (Bring Change, Save Farmers), Kejriwal said that the people of Gujarat should form a "government of the people" that would take decisions independently.
"This time Gujarat will have a government of the people, and it will make its own decisions. We must not just change the ruling party, but change the entire system for Gujarat's progress," he added.
Kejriwal said that AAP leaders, including Yashu Bhai, Pravin Ram, and Manoj Sorathiya, had travelled to villages and neighbourhoods over the past 10 to 12 days after offering prayers at the Somnath Temple, interacting with farmers before reaching Gandhinagar for the rally.
According to the AAP Convenor, the journey revealed widespread distress among farmers.
"Wherever we went, we found that farmers in Gujarat are unhappy and suffering. In some places, there is no drinking water, and in others, there is no irrigation water. Prices of everything have increased, and farmers are not receiving the full price for their crops," he alleged.
Kejriwal alleged that despite three decades of BJP rule in Gujarat, farmers, youth, and traders had not benefited.
"Only the leaders of the BJP and Congress are benefiting. Their joint business is thriving," he said.
Referring to protests by farmers in Botad against the "kadda" system (a system of informal lending), Kejriwal alleged that police action had led to 85 farmers being jailed for months.
"Farmers were protesting peacefully, but the state government entered their homes, dragged them out, and put them in jail," he said.
He also referred to the arrest of AAP MLA Chaitar Vasava and farmer leader Pravin Ram, alleging that they were jailed for raising issues such as corruption in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme.
Kejriwal referred to his own arrest in connection with the Delhi excise policy case and said that central agencies had conducted raids at his residence, bank accounts, and offices, but "did not find a single rupee".
"The court has said there is no evidence and no witness against me," he said.
Comparing with the BJP and Congress, Kejriwal said he would not allow his own children to enter politics and claimed that the AAP would give opportunities to candidates from ordinary families rather than to relatives of political leaders.
Calling on farmers to oppose the BJP in future elections, he added that the upcoming political contest should aim at changing the governance system in the state.
"When the people's government is formed, the first step will be to end the hooliganism and corruption of leaders and send those who have exploited Gujarat to jail," Kejriwal said.
