The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said with the formation of the AAP government in Punjab, the state will be freed from criminals, goons, corrupt and inspector raj.

Addressing businessmen and traders, Kejriwal said after the formation of the Aam Aadmi Party government, after 1 April 2022, the responsibility for the security of every trader would be of the AAP government. Stop being afraid and start planning for business and industry development now, he said.

“We (AAP) will give an honest government in Punjab too. Punjab has given a lot of opportunities to the Congress, Akali Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party to form the government in Punjab, but now give the AAP a chance. Give it a chance and no one will be able to shake the AAP government like Delhi,” he said.

Kejriwal sought the cooperation of the traders and businessmen and appealed to the entire business community to become partners in the honest AAP government to be formed in Punjab.

“Like other parties we have come not to take money from the traders but to seek cooperation and share in the government as Punjab has to be established on another level and has to be taken to the pinnacle of development,” he added.

Kejriwal promised to eradicate crime, corruption and inspector raj in Punjab. He said the traders and businessmen were living in fear. “How will business thrive in such an environment? On the contrary, the traders will want to limit their trade,” the AAP leader said, adding there was a need for business to flourish in Punjab so that youth could get employment.

Criticising the Channi government, Kejriwal said it was easy to imitate the common man, but difficult to implement; because Chief Minister Charanjit Singh, after seeing the AAP government’s works, announced the abolition of inspector raj, participation of traders and provision of facilities to industries, but do not implement them.

He alleged that the Channi government had neither good intentions nor good policy. Due to this about 2,700 hotels in Punjab were closed and thousands of industries moved out of Punjab.

Speaking on the occasion, AAP Punjab president and MP Bhagwant Mann said, “The established governments in the country consider traders, arhtiyas and industrialists as thieves, while they are the ones who pay the highest taxes. The businessman would gladly pay the tax to the honest government, because he knew that the benefit of this tax would go to him or his family in one form or another.”