‘Neither ₹2,500 transferred nor registration opened’: AAP, Cong. corner BJP on women aid scheme

Atishi said the promise was never meant to be kept
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came under fire from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress for not transferring the first monthly instalment of ₹2,500 to the beneficiary women under Mahila Samriddhi Yojana on Saturday, International Women’s Day, “as promised during the Delhi Assembly poll”.

“Before the Delhi election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a grand promise to the women of Delhi. He assured them that on March 8, International Women’s Day, ₹2,500 would be deposited into every woman’s account. He even advised the women to link their mobile number with their bank account to receive a message confirming the deposit. He called it ‘Modi ki Guarantee’,” said senior AAP leader Atishi.

“Today, Delhi’s women were waiting eagerly, believing in that promise. They kept wondering when ₹2,500 would be credited. When would the promised message arrive, proving that the ‘Modi ki Guarantee’ was fulfilled. But instead, the BJP government exposed the truth – it was never a guarantee, just another ‘jumla’(empty rhetoric),” alleged the Leader of Opposition.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva countered the allegations, saying Ms. Atishi has again made “misleading” statements, even as the women of Delhi are “pleased to learn” that they would soon receive the honorarium.

The Delhi government on Saturday approved the women aid scheme and allocated ₹5,100 crore for it.

Poll promise

In the run-up to the Delhi election, Mr. Modi called the women aid scheme “Modi ki Guarantee” (Modi’s promise) and said that if the BJP is elected, the scheme will be cleared in the first Cabinet meeting of the new government, and the first instalment credited on March 8.

Ms. Atishi claimed that women have been deceived by the BJP government as until now, there has been no registration portal or office where the beneficiaries can enter their names and submit their bank account or Aadhaar details to avail of the benefits. “The promise wasn’t just broken; it was never meant to be kept. All women received just a hollow assurance,” she alleged.

In a tit-for-tat, the Delhi BJP president reminded AAP of its unmet promise to the women of Punjab.

“[AAP chief] Arvind Kejriwal and [Punjab CM] Bhagwant Mann must answer why, even 37 months after winning the Punjab election, the women’s monthly aid scheme has not been implemented,” asked Mr. Sachdeva.

During the 2022 Punjab Assembly poll, AAP had promised to give ₹1,000 to eligible women every month if voted to power.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Congress alleged that the BJP government had cheated the women voters by limiting the scheme to less than 10% of women.

“As per the calculations, around 15-20 lakh women would benefit from the scheme,” claimed Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav. There are over 72 lakh women voters in Delhi.