By Abdul Bari Masoud, MMN,
New Delhi: The Aam Admi Party has formally kicked start its elections campaign on Saturday by launching mass-contact programme the Delhi Dialogue. Ahead of Delhi assembly election, the party has promised creating eight lakh jobs, setting up of 20 new colleges, vocational training, , sports facilities and Wi-Fi connectivity across Delhi to the youths.
Unveiling its agenda for the youth and students at the first round of public contact meeting at the Jantar Mantar here, AAP promised that it would immediately fill up 55,000 job vacancies in Delhi government, boards and corporations if it comes power. Announcing 5-point programme for youths, it will make student loan for college going students easy and hassle free, will establish 20 new colleges in outer Delhi and will make drug-free city.
According to the National Sample Survey and various other estimates, there are about 3-5 lakh unemployed people in Delhi. However, this estimate is far too low considering the many manifestations of disguised unemployment and underemployment.
The Delhi Dialogue is an interactive initiative to connect with voters of different strata of society as the party will come up with a 50-point programme catering to different sections of the society.
Highlighting the issue of admission, faced by students especially after class XII, former chief minister and AAP’s Convenor Arvind Kejriwal said the lack of infrastructure in the education sector is the main cause of the problem.
“No new college has been built since last 15-20 years, which is leading to this problem. Giving education to these students will be government’s responsibility. We will double the number of existing seats and construct 20 new colleges for the youth”.
Addressing the gathering, Kejriwal said if his party voted to power the new government will also ensure that students get loan for pursuing their education. He also tried to woo the youth by making Delhi a Wi-Fi city. He concluded the first half of the programme by laying down the slogan for the youth – “Degree, Income, and WiFi. Aam Aadmi Party Laayi”.
Over the past two weeks, the Aam Aadmi Party’s Delhi Dialogue team led by Ashish Khetan, Meera Sanyal and Adarsh Shastri met with stakeholders on these issues ranging from bureaucrats, government employees and elected representatives, businesses, non-profits, journalists and other interesting persons with expertise.
They also engaged with several student groups and leadership organizations, along with youth brigades. Based on these roundtables, the AAP has developed a 5-point agenda plan that was unveiled for the youth at this event. However, this list is not set in stone and is open to amendments, revision and discussion.
At the event, elaborate talks on the current status and future of various issues mentioned were delivered by party leaders including Yogendra Yadav, Meera Sanyal, Adarsh Shastri and independent idealogues like Atul Bhatnagar, CEO of the National Skill Development Corporation and Mahesh Murthy, a renowned venture capitalist.