AAP in Delhi calls for national boycott of Chinese goods

NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party national convenor and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday issued a nationwide appeal to boycott Chinese products. Speaking at the party's national council meet in Delhi, Kejriwal took on the BJP-led central government for not doing enough to “punish” China for its aggression at the border and demanded that the government “show some courage” and take measures to cut down on imports from the country.
“I would also like to urge the BJP-led government to show some courage and stand with their soldiers. The day we show some courage and stop this $95 billion worth of imports from China, it will come to the terms that India has laid down for it,” Kejriwal said to the Centre.
While putting the China issue centrestage, Kejriwal also made the national council meet the space to assert AAP’s growth story, victories in Delhi and Punjab, and it gaining the national party status in a short span of 10 years having fulfilled the necessary eligibility criteria of being a state party in four states, including Gujarat, where it won five seats in the assembly elections recently.
The 11th national council meeting held in Delhi gains significance as it is the first since AAP swept Punjab and comes after the recent victory in the Delhi MCD and assembly polls where AAP managed to open its account in Gujarat with five seats and around 13% vote-share, though drawing a blank in Himachal Pradesh. The party’s national council also brainstormed on the road ahead as it set out its vision ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2024 and passed resolutions against rising inflation, unemployment and Chinese aggression.
During his address Kejriwal, while highlighting the national issues AAP will be taking up, hit out at the central government saying that while the India soldiers have displayed bravery and thwarted all the attempts of China, instead of giving China a befitting reply for attacking the Indian soldiers, the BJP-led Centre has been constantly rewarding China. “Our trade with China has only increased over the years and we are constantly importing more and more goods from them,” he said.
“In 2020-21, we bought goods worth $65 billion from China — this translates to about Rs 5.25 lakh crore worth of goods. The following year, they continued to attack us and bother our soldiers, but we increased our trade to buy goods worth $95 billion or Rs 7.5 lakh crore from them,” Kejriwal added.
“They say that the goods that come from China are cheaper. We do not want cheaper goods,” Kejriwal said and urged all citizens to boycott Chinese goods and buy only locally made goods.
Preparing the pitch for 2024 elections, Kejriwal said, “I envision an India that is a global education hub, where no one sleeps hungry, where underprivileged get top-class education-healthcare and become rich. In our vision, there is no scope for caste-religion divides.”
In the context of the Gujarat elections, Kejriwal said, “Everyone can ‘milk a cow’, but we were able to ‘milk a bull’ in Gujarat. This is how difficult this election was for us.” He said the 13% vote share and the victory on five seats is no small achievement. “AAP will definitely form government in Gujarat in 2027,” he said.