Akali Dal has no moral right to rule Punjab: Arvind Kejriwal

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Convener Arvind Kejriwal on Friday alleged that the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-BJP government in Punjab has "lost moral right" to continue as it has "miserably failed" in providing basic amenities like safe drinking water to the people of the state.

"After so many years of independence villages in Punjab are still deprived of drinking water," Kejriwal said on the second day of his five-day Punjab tour, at Teja Ruhela village.

He "assured" availability of drinking water to all villages in Punjab within one month if AAP voted to power in the 2017 assembly poll.

"I have found that several villages of Punjab are still deprived of the safe drinking water as a result most of the families of the area were affected by the water-borne diseases," he said.

"If a state government fails to provide even drinking water to people, it has no moral right to continue in power", the Delhi Chief Minister said adding that AAP Government took it a priority to provide safe drinking water to all the citizens of Delhi.

He also lambasted the Punjab government for its alleged failure to check drug menace, unemployment and adequate compensation to farmers who lost their crops and committed suicides under debt.

Shocked over such a "worse condition", Mr Kejriwal said "I assure you, once AAP voted to power, within one month we will ensure safe drinking water in all these villages".

"No state government so far, be it of SAD-BJP or Congress, ever gave any heed to the villagers 'cry' for drinking water," he said.

Mr Kejriwal lashed out at the Akali government for "contamination" of water due to use of insecticides and pesticides.

He rued that instead of providing them drinking water, authorities just printed the walls with warning "groundwater is unfit for human consumption".