"People don't want copycats..." Atishi calls manifestoes of BJP, Congress, JD(S) cheap imitations of AAP's

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], January 31 (ANI): Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi MLA Atishi on Tuesday attacked BJP, Congress and JD(S) over their poll manifestos, and called them "cheap imitations" of AAP's manifesto.
Addressing the media at the party office during her first Karnataka visit, she said "BJP, Congress, and JD(S) are copying AAP's Delhi and Punjab manifestos, promising free electricity, building 24,000 classrooms, building 'namma clinics' and guarantee card schemes."
"They can copy-cat only the schemes, but their intention is only to lure voters and not to actually work or implement the schemes. For too long, the people of the state have witnessed schemes being announced with much fanfare, but with little or no implementation on the ground," she added.
Atishi further said that AAP has regularized 9,000 teachers in Punjab, while 11,000 out of 18,000 college teachers in Karnataka are contract lecturers with low pay.
"The government schools in the state are in poor condition with inadequate classrooms, tin roofs, and lacking basic amenities such as toilets and drinking water, while Delhi's government schools have high-quality infrastructure. 40 per cent of Class I students are unable to read alphabet, and 37.3 per cent of Class III students are unable to read words, according to the Annual Status of Education Report. Meanwhile, Delhi's government schools are producing students who are excelling in exams such as NEET and IIT JEE and getting into top engineering and medical colleges. While Delhi allocates 25 per cent of its budget for education, Karnataka's government only allocates 12 per cent," she added.
She further called the announcement of the BJP of building 'namma clinics' as a "pre-election stunt".
"BJP, the ruling party, announced the opening of 'namma clinics' similar to Delhi's 'mohalla clinics.' However, with only 432 clinics planned for a larger state compared to Delhi which has 500, it's seen as a pre-election stunt," she said.
Atishi attacked Congress over its poll promise of free electricity, accusing it of not implementing the scheme in Congress-ruled states.
"Congress has also promised 200 units of free electricity in Karnataka, but it is not offered in their ruled states like Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, or Himachal Pradesh. JD(S) has promised quality government schools in all gram panchayats. Both Congress and JD(S) must prove their commitment by offering the same promises in all their ruled states before the Karnataka elections," stated Atishi.
She further alleged that the private schools, contractors, and religious establishments in Karnataka have to pay a 'commission' to the government.
"Today, private schools in the state of Karnataka claim they have to pay commissions to the government, contractors say they have to pay commissions, and religious establishments claim they have to pay commissions to receive their own donations. Bribes and commissions have become common," she added.
She added that people don't want to go for a 'photo copy' when they have the 'original'.
"People don't want a copycat. There's only one Puneet Rajkumar, and no one can replace him. Similarly, no one can replace AAP. Other parties may promise the same things, but only AAP has delivered. The people of Karnataka are aware of this and that's why our volunteers are receiving positive responses on ground. I urge the people of Karnataka to choose an honest party that has delivered, and that party is AAP," she further said.
It is pertinent to note that Karnataka is slated to go to Assembly elections in the first half of 2023. (ANI)