In a bid to woo the electorate of rural Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today promised to give special status to villagers and set up 'Gram Vikas Fund' on the lines of MPLAD funds for development of villages if the party is elected to power in the upcoming Assembly elections.
Addressing the fourth addition of 'Delhi Dialogue' at Ghuman Hera, a village on Delhi-Haryana border, AAP Chief Arvind Kejriwal asked the people "not to vote for BJP".
He said having the same party (BJP) at the Centre and in the state would mean that the Chief Minister here would act as the "puppet" of the central government.
Lashing out at BJP, Kejriwal said the party (BJP) had treated villagers as their vote bank and only snatched away their land.
"The BJP looks after the rural part of Delhi as its vote bank. BJP people have snatched away land and then forget about the farmers... They are also bringing changes in the land acquisition act. This enables them (BJP) to give farmers' land to the industrialist who have funded their election campaign," Kejriwal said.
Promising to grant special status to villagers, the APP Chief said his government would also review the section of the Delhi Land Reforms Act, which is unfriendly to the farmers.
"We will grant special status to villagers and will set up village level fund (Gram Vikas Fund), similar to those of MPs and MLAs'. This will also help villagers to develop their own villages," former Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal said.
He added that development of Delhi "is not possible without development of villages".
