Aam Aadmi Party wants to make Agra worthy of the Taj Mahal

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will help to make Agra a heritage city if it wins the Lok Sabha battle here.

Agra deserves a much better deal for its contribution to history and India's secular ethos, its candidate Ravindra Singh told IANS.

"Corruption-free governance is our top priority. But we also have a set of goals for the Taj city which has to be recognised as a heritage city," he said.

"The BJP, the Congress and the Samajwadi Party have done nothing to make Agra worthy of the Taj Mahal."

Ravindra Singh said he would make efforts to make Agra a Wi-Fi city so that tourists who come here can remain connected through the internet and the students enjoy the full benefits of computer technology.

The AAP will also work to split Agra University into three, he said. "In the last 10 years we have seen how the university has played havoc with the future of students," he said.

"The university cannot cope with its voluminous size, reflected in the number of colleges affiliated from Noida to Lucknow."

The AAP also has plans to unveil a health scheme for the more than three lakh workers in Agra's famous shoe industry, many afflicted with TB. As in Delhi, Ravindra Singh said, it wants a CAG audit of the private discom.

The AAP is particularly concerned about the state of cleanliness -- or the lack of it.

"As part of our campaign, our volunteers will use brooms to clean areas around monuments and other public utilities to sensitise the people on how important hygiene is for good health," Ravindra Singh said.

But the challenge for the AAP is serious. Pitted against it strong rivals in Ram Shankar Katheria of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Narayan Singh of the Bahujan Samaj Party and Maharaj Singh Dhangar of the Samajwadi Party.