Full statehood to be a part of AAP manifesto: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aamdi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said his party would continue with its demand for full statehood for the city, and that it would be part of AAP's manifesto for the upcoming Assembly elections.

"Full statehood is important for the people of Delhi. It will be a part of the AAP's manifesto and our struggle for it will continue," Kejriwal said during a town hall with the people.

The Kejriwal government has repeatedly accused the Centre of restricting its work, saying its government is unable to function following denial of statehood. The party had the same plank for the Lok Sabha elections held last year, but it did not get any seats.

Kejriwal on Saturday addressed a town hall in Janak Puri in west Delhi as a part of his election campaign ahead of the 2020 Delhi assembly elections. During the meeting, the Chief Minister interacted with the public and answered their questions. The meeting is being held to discuss 'AAP ka Report Card' which was launched by Kejriwal on December 24.

Among many issues that he spoke about, parking of vehicles was the key topic. Kejriwal said a system will be devised in collaboration with the MCD to resolve the issue of non-availability of parking spaces in commercial and residential areas.

"Parking is a common problem across Delhi. The parking system is under the jurisdiction of the MCD, but we will devise a system to resolve the issue of non-availability of parking spaces. We will work alongside MCD to address the issue."

He said in the next five years, AAP, if returned to power, will work on resolving traffic congestion and pollution in Delhi.

"Delhi has internal sources of pollution such as industry and vehicular emissions, and temperature inversion is common in winters which causes an increase in air pollution. We were able to bring the pollution level down by 25% from February to October last year. But a lot needs to be done. In the coming 5 years, we will work to end pollution in Delhi."

He credited all the transformation and development of the city to the people of Delhi.
IANS