Mumbai:
Civil activist Arvind Kejriwal launched his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Maharashtra at a rally that started from Mumbai and ended at Roha, Raigad district, where he lashed out at the state government over the irrigation scam.
Criticising the white paper on irrigation brought out by the government as “an attempt to absolve Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar of all the corruption charges against him”, Kejriwal asked the big gathering to reject the white paper.
In the first public meeting after the AAP was formed, Kejriwal said on Sunday his party “was compelled to release a ‘black paper’ on the irrigation scam in the state in which the entire government was involved”.
While the Water Resources Department’s white paper covered up the gross illegalities, the AAP’s ‘black paper’ exposes how Maharashtra, despite having the highest number of large dams, has lesser increas in irrigated area as compared to other states. According to the Central Water Commission (CWC), the net irrigated area has actually decreased between 2000 and 20008.
The black paper, according to the AAP, proves how the cost per hectare for bringing land under irrigation in this state is the highest in the country and probably in the world. The gross irrigated area has increased by a mere 8.9 per cent in spite of an annual expenditure of Rs70 billion (Dh4.71 billion). This means nearly Rs2.2 million per hectare, which is in gross violation as the limit mandated by the CWC is Rs 50,000 to Rs250,000 per hectare.
Several local groups shared the dais with Kejriwal and AAP leader Prashant Bhushan with Dharam Rajya Paksha leader Rajan Raje saying his group was inspired by anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare and Kejriwal. He said, “Every single plot of land in Roha has been grabbed by irrigation minister Sunil Tatkare” and exhorted farmers to stop selling their land to corrupt politicians.”
India Against Corruption activist Anjali Damania challenged Tatkare to “come and hear the voice of the people. The poorest of the poor have travelled over 300km to come and demand his resignation.”
Stressing that the real VIP for the AAP was the common man, Kejriwal asked the people not to touch his feet or garland him since “these are the ways of Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders”. His party aimed at changing the course of politics in the country, he said, and ever since his party was formed, “we have not allowed politicians to rest in peace”. He said every political party was “in collusion in looting the nation”. He was surprised, he said, that media chased him for proof rather than “chase the culprits”.
