Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's meeting with top officials of the Punjab government in the national capital in the absence of his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Singh Mann may have prompted an angry response from the opposition parties. However, the move is aimed at sending a message beyond Punjab and has been taken on the basis of the assessment that the people of the state have accepted Kejriwal as the harbinger of change.
In connection with the pre-poll promise of providing the people of the state with 300 units of electricity free of cost, Kejriwal had on Monday held a meeting with senior officials of Punjab, including the chief secretary. What is more, Mann was not present in the meeting. Mann held a meeting with Kejriwal in Delhi on Tuesday.
The opposition was up in arms, describing Kejriwal's meeting with Punjab government officials as unacceptable, an assault on Punjabi pride, in violation of principles of federalism and a clear proof that Mann was a rubber stamp and Kejriwal is functioning as the 'super CM' of the state.
However, according to AAP sources, the public sentiment in Punjab is not in consonance with the reaction of the opposition parties. According to them, the party's assessment is that the people have voted for AAP wanting the Delhi model of governance to be replicated in Punjab and knowing full well that Kejriwal's interventions will be essential for this. The people, according to the sources, have accepted the model where Kejriwal is the man with the vision and the intent to bring about a change, and Mann is the implementer in the state.
This thinking was evident when after a marathon meeting Kejriwal had with Mann on Tuesday, he stated: “We will transform Delhi, Punjab and the whole country for good together; we will work day and night for the betterment of our people.”
In the official statement that followed late in the evening, the AAP described the meeting as having set a benchmark for interstate relations and policy planning. It said the meeting was a symbol of strengthening coordination and communication between the two governments. It was emphasised that the meeting, which went on for several hours and in which the finance ministers of the two states were also present, saw Kejriwal and Mann discussing the public's needs and demands in Delhi, Punjab and the whole country at length.
The two meetings in Delhi, coming in the run up to the announcement of free power in Punjab, are aimed at an audience beyond these two states. As the AAP looks to enhance its national footprint following its stupendous performance in the Assembly elections in Punjab, it is keen to showcase the work being done in the border state.
And with Kejriwal, the national convenor of the AAP, being its mascot with a countrywide recognition, the party is keen to emphasise his interventions in all the positive outcomes in Punjab.
For now, the road to Punjab goes through Delhi.
