Delhi polls | AAP will give temple, gurdwara priests Rs 18,000 a month: Kejriwal

AAP supremo and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday (December 30) announced that his party would launch a 'Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana' if it gets re-elected in Delhi, promising a monthly allowance of Rs 18,000 for Hindu temple priests and granthis of gurdwaras.

The announcement comes ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, with AAP seeking to retain power for a fourth consecutive term.

On his X (formerly Twitter) account, Kejriwal urged the BJP to not stop the scheme and if they did, it would be a "big sin".

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"BJP people, don't try to stop this, it will be a big sin," he wrote in Hindi.

At a press conference, Kejriwal said, "Today I am making an important announcement regarding a scheme. The name of the scheme is Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana. Under this, there is a provision to give an honorarium to the priests of temples and the 'granthis' of the Gurudwara. They will be given an honorarium of about Rs 18,000 per month. This is happening for the first time in the country. The priest is a class that has carried forward the rituals from generation to generation. They never paid attention to their family and we never paid attention to them."

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"Registration for this scheme will begin tomorrow. I will be visiting Hanuman Temple in Connaught Place tomorrow to start the registration of this scheme," he added.

(With agency inputs)