Until good education, healthcare is ensured, India can't become 'Vishwaguru': Kejriwal

Phagwara, Oct 8 (PTI) Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said India can never become a 'Vishwaguru' until it ensures good education and healthcare for all, as developed nations do.

Kejriwal was addressing an event at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Phagwara.

He also remarked that "hateful politics and the corrupt system" that have held India back should be uprooted.

"Despite paying heavy taxes, citizens still struggle for basic services like schools, hospitals, roads, electricity, and water, as corruption grips every corner of governance," he said.

Emphasising that education and healthcare are the backbone of progress, the AAP leader asserted that India cannot become a 'Vishwaguru' until it ensures good education and healthcare for all, just like developed nations.

Kejriwal further stated that government schools and hospitals can indeed improve, as the AAP government has proven in Delhi and is now working to implement this in Punjab.

Addressing the students, Kejriwal celebrated India's cultural, linguistic, and religious diversity, saying, "Despite many traditions and attires, we are one nation, one people, one India." Reflecting on India's diversity, he added, "You will not find another country with as many cultures as ours.

He added that each culture, including that of Assam, Bengal, Punjab, Haryana, Kerala, Tamil, Manipur, and Tripura, is unique and vibrant.

"In other countries, you'll find one culture, one language, one kind of people, one kind of roads, one kind of everything. But in our country, there are about 121 languages, and if we include dialects, there are around 1,200 dialects." "No other nation has so many languages. In our country, people of every faith live together, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, people from every religion coexist here." Recalling India's glorious academic past, he said, "Around 500 B.C., about two and a half thousand years ago, Nalanda University existed and was the world's top university. Ten thousand students from across the world studied there during the time of Gautama Buddha." "But what has happened today? Out of the world's top 100 universities, barely one or two of our Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) make the list. Not a single Indian university consistently ranks among the top 100. How do Indians perform so well on foreign soil? What happens to us here?" he asked.

Expressing concern over the country's governance, Kejriwal said, "Today, we see bridges collapsing, potholes all over the roads, garbage everywhere. Despite paying so much tax and leaving no stone unturned in paying taxes, we get no services in return." "Corruption is rampant all around. Why is that so? The systems are broken, and politics is broken. God gave us everything, but also gave us bad politics and bad leaders. The whole system has collapsed. We need to fix it." Pointing to the importance of education and healthcare in national progress, Kejriwal asserted, "The most important thing for the progress of any country—what did Japan, Singapore, and Germany do first? They focused on one thing: good education and good healthcare." "We can talk big about becoming a 'Vishwaguru' or number one in the world, but that will never happen until we ensure quality education for all our children, rich or poor. What is the current condition of our government schools? No decent person wants to send their children there. It has been 75 years since independence, and we have still not managed to educate our children properly, how will we progress then?" he asked.

Referring to Delhi and Punjab, Kejriwal said, "In Delhi and Punjab, we have proven that government schools can indeed be improved. We showed it in Delhi, and now we are showing it in Punjab." "Without solving education and healthcare, no country can progress, under any circumstances. In Punjab, a spark of change has been lit. It has been just three years since we took charge in Punjab, and three years is not a long time." "But under the leadership of Bhagwant Mann, Punjab is now walking on the path of progress," he said.

"When we took over in 2022, the state treasury was empty, but we never complained. We didn't cry or make excuses about the empty treasury; we did whatever was necessary, through every possible means and continued working tirelessly for the people," he added.

Kejriwal also highlighted Punjab's progress, stating, "In Punjab, roads spanning 19,500 kilometres are being constructed across interior rural areas. Villages are being connected through new roads. You can't even imagine such a large-scale project being undertaken in any other state." PTI CHS HIG HIG