Gurgaon: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal launched the party’s election campaign in Haryana on Saturday with a ‘school-hospital’ rally , standing on the dual planks of education and health — the latter a subject of recent friction between him and Manohar Lal Khattar, who had described the AAP government’s ‘mohalla clinics’ as ‘halla clinics’.

Kejriwal — who had dared Khattar to let him inspect a Haryana government clinic while inviting him to visit a mohalla clinic — promised to replicate in Haryana AAP’s health and education initiatives in Delhi if the party was voted to power in next year’s assembly election.

Addressing a crowd at the Gaushala ground, Kejriwal also touched upon private school fee, which has led to frequent tussles between parents and school managements, particularly in Gurgaon, which is home to several elite — as well as expensive — schools. He said an AAP government would keep tabs on private schools and not allow them to increase fees at whim in the state.

“Private schools have become a business for politicians and influential people, who are earning a huge amount by increasing fees every year,” Kejriwal said. “We have not allowed schools to increase fees in Delhi in the past three years; schools have been forced to return additional money they had charged in previous years. We will conduct audits of schools (in Haryana, too) and will not allow them to increase fees,” he added.

Kejriwal clarified he was not against private schools but said government schools should be good enough to ensure children from all strata of society have access to quality education. Upgrading government-run schools and healthcare has been a major focus area of AAP in Delhi.

He also promised to replicate Delhi’s ‘mohalla clinic’ model to improve public healthcare in Haryana. “The condition of government schools and hospitals in Haryana is not good. The situation was similar in Delhi when we came to power. If we can transform government schools and hospitals in Delhi, why have Haryana governments of different parties failed to do so over the years?” Kejriwal asked.

Lashing out at BJP, Congress and INLD, he urged people to shun parties that had been seeking votes in the name of caste and religion, and support ones that worked for building schools and hospitals. “So far, we have seen Hunkar Rally, Parivartan Rally, Vikas Rally and many more. But, this is the first time when there is a rally for schools and hospitals,” he said, stressing the need to change the political narrative .

Making an emotional pitch, he said his life was under threat — an allusion to the recent security breach in which a man tried to rub chilli powder in the CM’s face inside the Delhi secretariat. “They want to kill me. I may not survive long but I will work for the country till my last breath,” Kejriwal said.

