Arvind Kejriwal’s formula for flourishing businesses of Punjab — will end Inspector Raj, give protection to each trader

The Aam Aadmi Party is committed towards making the trading community a partner in Punjab’s progress. In this regard, AAP National Convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal has been holding dialogue with businesspersons for months to hear their concerns. Shri Arvind Kejriwal has given a formula for flourishing businesses of Punjab through the end of Inspector Raj and by giving protection to each trader. He said that after the formation of the AAP Government in Punjab, we will take responsibility to protect every trader in the state and ensure honest governance in Punjab like Delhi and get rid of corrupt leaders and officers. He promised that after the AAP government is formed, no businessman will need to be afraid and no trader will be harassed, will stop looting and take action on criminals. He reinforced how for the first time a party is saying with proof that they will deliver an honest government and said that we will replicate the Delhi Model in Punjab. He talked about how bribery was completely stopped in our 49-day government in Delhi, but the Anti-Corruption Branch was snatched away from us by the Center but Punjab is a full state, and will completely stop bribery by implementing strong measures inside Punjab. AAP will refund pending VAT of all traders within three to four months of forming the government. He said I don’t want money, I have come to make traders partners in Punjab’s progress. He stated that farmers and traders are the two wheels of Punjab’s economy and development, we will take both of them together. Shri Arvind Kejriwal said I am only asking for one chance! After five years the traders of Punjab will be the fans of Aam Aadmi Party.

Aam Aadmi Party National Convener and Delhi Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal’s two-day visit to Punjab ended successfully today. On the second day of his visit, the AAP Convener interacted with the businesspersons of Punjab in Bathinda today. In this meeting, the businessmen made the AAP Convenor aware of the difficulties being faced in running their business. Along with this, traders also gave many suggestions. The traders said that if the government works on the suggestions given by the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab, then the traders will also be able to do their business efficiently and employment will also increase in Punjab. Shri Arvind Kejriwal took note of the suggestions from the traders and assured that after the formation of the Aam Aadmi Party government, the government will definitely work on their valuable suggestions.

*Cannot draft an unrealistic manifesto, advertise slogans without hearing from the people of Punjab firsthand; grateful for love and support: Arvind Kejriwal*

AAP National Convenor and Delhi CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal said, “I am extremely grateful for the love that has poured in upon us in the form of countless traders and businesspersons who have gathered here today to support us. I have been constantly visiting Punjab to understand the grievances of the people here. In the last one and a half months I have conversed with huge groups of businesspersons to have shared their problems with me in detail. We have till yet held such meetings in Ludhiana and Jalandhar, and my aim for this meeting in Bathinda is the same as well. The system in our country is such that political parties only seem to care about the people when the election season comes. And their expression of concern is such that they sit in a closed room, prepare a manifesto and handover a lollipop to the public in the form of that manifesto. One party has drafted a 13-point manifesto recently, funnily they don’t even seem to know what the public wants. We could’ve engaged in this linear form of communication as well. We could’ve simply released a manifesto and sung songs about it too, but we didn’t. We want to understand what the people of Punjab want, we want to understand what has been irking the business community. The Aam Aadmi Party is on a mission to reform and bring prosperity to Punjab. But I can bet that there is no one better to tell us what we should do to realise our goals than the people of Punjab itself.”

*Revolutionised education by constantly hearing from the people: Arvind Kejriwal*

He continued, “Manish Sisodia Ji revolutionised education in Delhi, developed world-class schools. Satyendar Jain Ji revolutionised healthcare, developed Mohalla Clinics. This didn’t happen because we know everything. This happened because we are always talking to people, visiting them, hearing what they want. And this is how we get to meet people who know what to do. ”

*Delhi’s unwavering support for its public and industries during the pandemic was praised throughout India, while Punjab was busy with power politics: Arvind Kejriwal*

Shri Arvind Kejriwal said, “1700 hotels got bank-corrupt and 2700 hotels were forced to shut. Corona is such a magnanimous pandemic that every business was affected all around. Nobody could do anything about it. There was a pandemic all over the world. But only a few responsible and sensitive governments supported the people during that period. The way in which we supported the public, businessmen and those who fell ill, 24×7 in Delhi is being praised all over the country. Unfortunately, at the time when the Corona was spreading in Punjab, a fight was going on for the Chief Minister’s Chair. They were neither worried about the traders, nor worried about the hospitals, or the medicines.”

*Small traders the most vulnerable community; status quo failing to help existing industries grow: Arvind Kejriwal*

He talked about the importance of small businesses and said, “Politicians give a lot of focus to talking about the businesses of the large industries, but no one talks about small businesses. MSMEs are the backbone of our economy. We have to support them as well. I did my eighth grade education from Siwani Village. My father had lost his job for a year, so we went to the village. For a year, I too sat at our grocery store. I used to go to school in the eighth grade and when I used to come home from school, I used to sit at the shop for a while. That shop belonged to my uncle. The small traders are the backbone of our country’s economy and are the ones that get hit the most too. Bathinda is witnessing murders in daylight, the environment is not safe. Ransom-rule is taking over. Chain snatchings are happening. There is an atmosphere of complete fear. The law and order situation needs focus. Earlier there used to be 400 cotton mills in Punjab and now the number has come down to 40. Look at any Chief Minister across the country. They hold big conferences and invite big industrialists and moneylenders to them. They say crores will be invested in their state. But what about the investment that has already been made? Why can’t you save it? The industries and shops which are already functioning are getting destroyed. The industries of Punjab are leaving and going to other states. The industrialists are unable to survive here and yet the government keeps talking about new industries.”

*Used direct channel of complaint to put a stop to inspectors troubling people for their ‘Diwali’, worked like magic: Arvind Kejriwal*

Shri Kejriwal added, “Diwali has come. Now all the inspectors will go to traders to collect their personal Diwali. This used to happen in Delhi also. I remember two years ago during Diwali many traders came to us. They said you say Inspector Raj has ended but at the time of Diwali, inspectors are pestering us. Hearing this we passed a written order that no officer of any department will visit any shop during Diwali. But who obeys orders? No matter how many orders you issue, who can stop the inspector from going to the shop? So in the same order we wrote that if any officer comes to your place, then this is the WhatsApp number. Whatsapp us his photo. After that the inspectors stopped taking Diwali. So we have to end Inspector Raj here as well and we will because our intention is clear. If the intentions were bad, then only big advertisements would come out in the newspaper, but Inspector Raj would not have ended.”

*How will traders thrive in the horrid environment that exists: Arvind Kejriwal*

“Some merchants came to meet me yesterday evening. They also said the same things. Told that four murders have taken place in Bathinda in the last few days. There is an atmosphere of ransom all around. The merchants are scared. If someone comes out of the house, he looks around to see if someone is following me. How will the traders do their business in such an environment?,” he said.

*Will eliminate the atmosphere of fear from trade, protect the community from crime and plundering; help them trade flourish in Punjab: Arvind Kejriwal*

Shri Arvind Kejriwal said, “Today I am going to make two crucial announcements. As I have said time and again, I always speak very thoughtfully. So, the first announcement is that our government will be formed. The election is in February, results will come in March, and after April 1, the safety of every trader will be our responsibility. Today I am going with a promise that after the formation of our government, there will be no need for any businessman to be afraid. We will revolutionize the system and create such an environment. Fear must not hold your work back from flourishing – openly shoot for the stars! Many traders are afraid of being too ambitious, worried that if their trade expands beyond an extent, the government will trouble them; they convince themselves to settle, to be satisfied with the daily bread for their families. ‘No need for extra’. But none of that will continue after 1st April – you might as well begin working on your plans to revolutionize the state of Punjab starting now. No trader will be bothered; you will be protected from plundering and criminals. We will promote brotherhood in the community. We will harbour any hate – only promote peace, and ensure proper law and order in the city. Many sincere cops in the force often say that the day the police pledge to take a zero tolerance stance against crime, it will cease to exist, given how strong their intelligence system is. It is not the fault of the police either, since their orders are overseen and signalled by the true wrongdoers – the Jojo tax enablers. When the motives of those higher up the ladder are questionable, they encourage the same faulty attitude in those below – the police, enabling corruption.”

*Empowered the common man to banish bribery in Delhi in mere 49 days; were held back in the capital, but will cause a complete anti-corruption stir in Punjab: Arvind Kejriwal*

AAP Convenor Shri Arvind Kejriwal continued, “Not sure how many of you had the chance to visit Delhi in our first days – back when the Aam Aadmi Party came to power in Delhi and formed a government that lasted 49 days, the incidents of bribery hadn’t just reduced, but came to a complete halt. I made declarations and put up hoardings urging people that the next time someone tries to bribe them, instead of turning it down, they record the entire exchange. And I offered my personal WhatsApp number for them to send these recordings to. Following this, the series of events usually went like this: a person walks into an office, faces some corrupt officer and immediately retorts with “Should I take my phone out?”. That’s it. (That was enough to erase corruption.) I didn’t even need to lift a finger – on its own this initiative garnered innumerable complaints and within those 49 days I sent 32 corrupt officers to jail! This caused an unprecedented stir in Delhi; officers, traffic policemen all stopped taking bribes. This was how empowered the common man had become, all they needed to end corruption was warn the wrongdoer. After we left, however, the same officers came back and pledged to torture the people by taking four fold the amount they earlier failed to amass, intimidating them with remarks like “Call your Kejriwal now!” (Bulaao apne Kejriwal ko). We came back and resumed our fight against corruption. But the Centre tied our hands, seized our Anti-Corruption Branch and paralysed our movement from attaining its full form. But Punjab is a proper state and we will implement our best practices here and completely end corruption in the state as we know it.”

*Aam Aadmi Party is the first to represent honesty; will revolutionize the entire system in Punjab: Arvind Kejriwal*

Shri Arvind Kejriwal continued, “We will form an honest government in Punjab as we did in Delhi. I believe this is a very big deal – till today the talk of honesty has been absent in Indian politics. No one honest was left to initiate it: neither any party nor any politicians. Talks of corruption had completely ceased. Everyone became corrupt, so who would talk about corruption? For the first time a party has come, which is claiming that an honest government has been formed inside Delhi and we will give you an honest government in Punjab as well. We will rid the state of Punjab from the traps of corrupt politicians and officials; rid you of the ‘hafta’ system, the ‘mahina’ system. We will get rid of Inspector Raj, as we have done in Delhi. We stopped the Raid Raj in Delhi. We had deliberately made a system to enable Inspector Raj and corruption. Our new government will change the law, the rules so that there remains no medium for bribery and corruption to thrive at the hands of inspectors. We will stop all unfair taxes when we come to power, but even as we speak, I am encouraging them to stop these taxes right away. A trader works 24 hours a day to earn a living.
Now no trader will be harassed, merchants will be respected. The way traders are called middlemen: we will erase this ‘middleman’ word.”

*Channi Sahib echoing my promises – all talk and no action; Will ensure no more power outages: Arvind Kejriwal*

AAP’s convener Arvind Kejriwal said, “When I interacted with the traders in Ludhiana and Jalandhar, I was made aware of two important things. First, there seem to be a lot of power outages in the area – we will curb these power cuts. There used to be a lot of such outages in Delhi too. There is no shortage of electricity in Punjab, it is a power generating state. Despite that, it faces outages – identical was the case with Delhi. When our government was formed for the first time, there would be continuous power cuts for 7-8 hours. I figured out and solved the problem in Delhi, which I expect is the same problem Punjab faces. All the stars and transformers in Delhi were outdated, which caused frequent wires and transformers to get damaged. Power Minister Satyendra Jain and I  made sure to get all the wires and transformers replaced within two and a half to three years. Today there is 24 hour-electricity supply throughout Delhi. Similarly, we will provide Punjab with uninterrupted electricity supply.. Secondly, I have also been informed that the old VAT refunds are still pending. All your money that the government has will be refunded to you within three to four months after our government is established. All the parties only remember that the trader community exist right before the elections, because all parties need money from traders. I don’t want money from you. I have come to make you a partner in Punjab’s. Together, we will change the face of the state. The atmosphere of fear will end. I had said these exact words in Jalandhar and Ludhiana as well. Two days later I read the news that CM Channi Sahib has repeated my words – that he wants to make you a partner. I said ‘we will end Inspector Raj’: so Channi Sahib advertised in the newspaper that he will end Inspector Raj. I say, go ahead. You still have two months. Why don’t you act on your words? Simply because their motives are not honourable. They have bad intentions. If you really wish to do it, even 49 days are enough. We had realised this miracle within 49 days in Delhi that it had turned heads all over the world. Channi Sahib has got 5 months. If they want, they can end Inspector Raj, they can make the industry a partner and solve all your problems. But we know they won’t. This is why I say it is easy for the common man to imitate, but difficult to implement. Channi Sahib should learn to speak with actions, not words.”

*One chance to AAP will transform the future of Punjab: Arvind Kejriwal*

Arvind Kejriwal, National Convener of the Aam Aadmi Party, said, “Yesterday I interacted with farmers, heard their problems as well. I understand that Punjab’s economy and development run on two wheels. One wheel is the farmer and the laborer and the other wheel is the merchant and the industry. Unless these two wheels are not working in tandem, Punjab cannot fully develop. Both of these wheels should be strong and move together. We will ensure that these two wheels run together, racing Punjab to its glory. Yesterday a farmer told me that he visited Delhi – commended the improvement in schools, the work done in hospitals and mohalla clinics. The kind of revolution in education and health that has taken place in Delhi is being discussed all over the country. The same revolution will take place in the field of agriculture and trade within Punjab. The whole country will follow the kind of development that Punjab will go through. You have given ample opportunities to the Congress in the last 70 years, even to Akali Dal and BJP. I have come to ask you to give me and the Aam Aadmi Party just one chance, and watch. It is said that the traders of Delhi used to belong to the BJP earlier. Within five years, they have all joined the Aam Aadmi Party. I promise you, after five years, traders from all over Punjab will be the Aam Aadmi Party supporters. We did not intimidate people by imposing any Jojo tax or goonda tax, or by filing false cases, we have won the hearts of the people. We have done the work, helped the people give a future to their children. We have taken care of their families. So I urge the people of Punjab to give this one opportunity to the Aam Aadmi Party, and I promise you that you will forget any other parties even exist. After that, the state will not find anyone else to shake things up the way the Aam Aadmi Party will.”