Delhi ministries’ notification against AAP schemes sparks major row

A Delhi government notification denouncing the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) promise to provide Rs 2,100 a month to women and free medical treatment to the elderly has sparked a huge row ahead of Assembly elections.

Government cautions against schemes

The women and child development and the health departments, which now report to the Lt Governor, disassociated themselves from the AAP pledge, and cautioned the people against providing personal details to anyone on the pretext of registration for “non-existent” schemes.

Without taking the name of AAP, they said that any individual or political party collecting such physical forms or information was “fraudulent and without any authority”.

Also read: Delhi polls: Congress releases 2nd list of 26 candidates, fields Suri against Sisodia

“It is clarified that no such scheme has been notified by the government of Delhi,” said a public notice by the health department.

Kejriwal’s outburst

AAP chief and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal hit back after the notification, alleging that the Bharaitya Janata Party (BJP) was rattled by the two schemes and claimed that Chief Minister Atishi could be arrested in a fake case.

“They are completely rattled with Mahila Samman Yojna and Sanjeevani Yojna. They have hatched a plan to come up with a fake case and arrest Chief Minister Atishi in the next few days,” he said on X.

He claimed that raids would be conducted against senior AAP leaders ahead of Atishi’s arrest.

Also read: AAP helps illegal Rohingyas, Bangladeshis settle in Delhi to use them as vote bank: BJP

BJP’s charge against Kejriwal

The BJP promptly dubbed Kejriwal a “big fraud”.

BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa said: “While he (Kejriwal) was getting forms filled out, his department clarified there is no such scheme to give an allowance of Rs 2,100.

“Those getting forms filled for the scheme are private people who are doing so to collect data illegally,” Sirsa told ANI.

AAP’s vote-catching schemes

The development comes days after AAP leaders launched the exercise of registering people for the two schemes with much fanfare. Both the schemes were announced by Kejriwal ahead of Assembly elections due in February.

Also read: With polls in sight, Kejriwal launches 24-hour water supply in Rajinder Nagar

The Mahila Samman Yojna, which promises to provide Rs 1,000 a month to all eligible women aged above 18 in Delhi, was announced by the AAP government in the budget 2024-25. Kejriwal recently promised to raise the amount to Rs 2,100 per woman if the AAP returned to power.

The notice cautioned the people that providing personal details and sensitive information such as PAN, phone numbers, or voter ID may lead to crime, including cyber and banking frauds.

(With agency inputs)