Arvind Kejriwal reiterates his demand for Delhi's full statehood

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday reiterated his demand for full statehood for Delhi and asked why the value of vote in Delhi was less compared to other states.

“Why is the value of votes of Delhiites less than those who voted in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh? Why does the Delhi government not have powers like other states?” Kejriwal asked in his Independence Day speech at a packed Chhatrasal Stadium.

Addressing the gathering of mostly students, Kejriwal said the Delhi government’s powers were curbed a few years after independence when it was declared a Union Territory.

He said people in Delhi had a right to choose their government but the power of the elected government was limited.

“People choose their government which had certain powers. But for the last one-and-a-half years, the Delhi government’s every right is being taken away one by one. Now the elected Delhi government has almost no powers (na ke barabar). We cannot take even one independent decision.”

Reminding the “Government of India 1935 Act”, Kejriwal said the act had given right to the people to elect their representatives but those elected persons have no power to run the government.

“Now, Delhi’s situation is similar to the 1935 Government of India Act,” Kejriwal said.