AAP, BJP Spar Over Jat Quota

Seeking job quota for Jats in Central government institutions, the AAP's National Convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday dismissed rumours that he was planning to file nominations from two seats as his election from the New Delhi constituency was under threat. 

The BJP dismissed Arvind Kejriwal’s new-found love for Jats as gimmickry.

BJP MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri hit back at Arvind Kejriwal for misleading Jats over quota and said, “Jats are already in the OBC list of Delhi. Kejriwal should tell how many Jats has he given jobs to in Delhi in the last 10 years.”

Arvind Kejriwal said he has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding the inclusion of Jats and five other communities, already included in Delhi’s OBCs list, in the Central list, paving the way for reservation for them in Central government jobs and educational institutes.

“This will open doors for jobs and education opportunities for Jats in Delhi university colleges, Safdarjung, RML, AIIMS medical colleges and employment in Delhi Police, NDMC and DDA,” he said, vowing to fight for the rights of Jats.

He said that PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had assured Jats of inclusion in the Central OBC list on four occasions but without any result.

He said four other communities, along with Rawat, should also be included in the Central OBC list.

Kejriwal dismissed rumours that he may leave the New Delhi seat or fight from a second safe seat. “I will fight only from one seat,” he said at a media conference.

His statement about fighting from only one seat comes at a time when his BJP rival from New Delhi constituency, Parvesh Verma, has been claiming that due to fear of defeat, Kejriwal may not fight from his current New Delhi seat or file papers from more than one constituency.

Kejriwal called his Congress rival on the New Delhi seat, Sandeep Dikshit, a "BJP pawn" and said he was not bothered by his threat to file a defamation case.

He described the upcoming election as his party’s direct fight with the BJP and not an INDIA bloc versus BJP clash.

Kejriwal said, “We thank Mamata di, Akhilesh Yadav and Uddhav Thackeray for wishes and support, but it is an AAP versus BJP election and not one involving the INDIA bloc.”