Governance should guarantee basic needs: AAP chief on ‘Kejriwal Model’
We entered the government with a simple aim — to ensure every family gets 200 units of free electricity and 20,000 litres of free water. Governance should guarantee basic needs. This was stated by Aam Aadmi Party supremo and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during the official launch of the Punjabi edition of ‘Kejriwal Model’, a book authored by party leader Jasmine Shah. The book celebrates the AAP vision and philosophy.
Kejriwal underscored that the model could only run on honesty. “If a government is corrupt, if its ministers are looting, the model will collapse,” he said, stating that AAP proved it in Punjab too.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and former Delhi Deputy CM, Punjab AAP in-charge Manish Sisodia and publishers Harish Jain and Rohit Jain of Unistar Books were present on the occasion.
Speaking at the event, Shah explained his motivation behind documenting the “Kejriwal Model,” a governance framework that, he said, transformed the way politics and administration were practised in India. “I witnessed a unique model taking shape — one that focuses on world-class government schools, free and quality healthcare, 24×7 free electricity and a corruption-free environment,” he said.
The author contrasted the Kejriwal Model with the Modi/Gujarat Model. He said while the Kejriwal Model revolved around public welfare — education, health, transport and environment — the Gujarat Model largely benefitted a handful of corporates, with Rs 16 lakh crore in loans waived for big businesses, apart from a consistent decline in the education budget.
Kejriwal detailed the journey from launching of an anti-corruption NGO, “Parivartan”, in 2000, through the Anna Hazare movement, to forming a political party “against all odds”.
“On November 26, 2012, we applied to register AAP. Everyone from the media to intellectuals said we’d lose our deposits on every seat. But in December 2013, we won 28 seats in Delhi,” Kejriwal recounted.
The AAP leader emphasised that the “Kejriwal Model” wasn’t built in boardrooms, but from experiences gained while living and working in Delhi’s slums for a decade. “We saw first-hand how bad the condition of government schools, hospitals and electricity was,” he said.
Kejriwal shared how his early activism, including a hunger strike and reconnecting electricity poles, stemmed from the outrage at unaffordable bills and poor services.
He criticised the BJP-led Delhi administration, stating that after AAP left office, services collapsed. “Mohalla Clinics are being shut down, free medicines and tests discontinued, roads broken, and 6-hour power cuts are back,” he claimed.
He also questioned the motives of BJP leaders: “They’re not here to serve, but to profit. We were obstructed at every step, yet we delivered. I should get a Nobel Prize in administration for working despite Delhi LG’s constant interference.”
He hinted that Jasmine Shah might soon write a new book on “Punjab Model” if the work continued at the current pace.
The Punjab CM praised Kejriwal for removing the language of hate, caste and religion from Indian politics and replacing it with the language of development.
Congratulating Shah for publishing Kejriwal Model in Punjabi, Mann said, “At such a young age, you have already launched a book in three languages. It is commendable.”
Among the prominent figures in attendance were Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Cabinet Ministers Harpal Singh Cheema, Aman Arora, Harbhajan Singh ETO, Laljit Singh Bhullar, Tarunpreet Singh Sondh, Hardeep Singh Mundian, Dr Balbir Singh, Dr Raj Kumar, and several MLAs and MPs.
Chandigarh