 "AAP eradicated corruption in Delhi, CM Mann will end it in Punjab: Kejriwal")
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said his government has eradicated corruption in the national capital and his counterpart Bhagwant Mann and his ministers will now run an honest government in Punjab as well.
He welcomed Mann's announcement of releasing a WhatsApp number on March 23 -- iconic freedom fighter Bhagat Singh's death anniversary -- for people to share recordings if they are asked for bribe by government officials.
"Next time, if someone asks you for a bribe. Don't refuse. Just take out your phone and record the incident and share it on the number that will be released. It will be his (Mann's) personal WhatsApp number. We will initiate strict action against that official," Kejriwal said during an online briefing.
Kejriwal recalled he had done something similar in his first stint in Delhi that lasted 49 days.
"When I had formed the government for the first time, I had also issued a WhatsApp number and during those 49 days, we took action against 30-32 officials by sending them to jail. Corruption was eradicated in Delhi and the phone became the biggest weapon of empowerment of the common public," he said.
Kejriwal claimed that the prime minister later issued an order and took away the Anti-Corruption Branch from the AAP dispensation.
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"It's been 75 years since we have gained independence but we still have to pay bribes. All parties have indulged in corruption. Aam Aadmi Party is the first party to run an honest government. Kejriwal and his ministers, Mann and his ministers are not corrupt. We don't want 'hafta' (protection money). Just like we eradicated corruption in Delhi, we will end it in Punjab as well," he said.
AAP leader Bhagwant Mann took oath Wednesday as Punjab chief minister. The party won 92 of the 117 assembly seats in Punjab.