In order to press for full statehood to Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday burnt the BJP's 2014 special Lok Sabha election manifesto for the city.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, while addressing the party leaders and workers on the occasion, said the people of Delhi are not ready to suffer injustice any longer and would embark on an unprecedented struggle to realise the full statehood dream.
"We have done whatever we could for the people of Delhi during the last four years. However, there are critical areas which are outside the purview of Delhi's elected government. It is not possible to solve certain problems unless Delhi becomes a full state. Take women's security for example. Who will ensure that," asked Kejriwal.
He said that time has come for all of "us to wage a joint struggle. We will have to make sacrifices for the statehood of Delhi." "I will not hesitate to lay down my life for the statehood of Delhi if the situation demands. This Lok Sabha Election is not an election. It is a movement for Delhi's statehood," said Kejriwal.
Kejriwal said the recent statement of BJP's Delhi unit president Manoj Tiwari that the statehood will no longer be a part of the BJP manifesto cleared that the promise made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Delhi's statehood during 2014 Lok Sabha elections was totally false.
AAP's Delhi convenor and Cabinet Minister Gopal Rai said that the statehood for Delhi is a mission for his party, which will not rest till the right for the residents of the national capital is not fulfilled.
"The party will burn the BJP's 2014 Lok Sabha manifesto in every nook and corner of Delhi to tell the people how they were deceived and let down by the BJP, which took their votes in the name of statehood, but in vain," said Rai.