Women from economically weaker sections can start registering for the ₹2,500 per month financial assistance scheme of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Delhi from March 8, said party member of parliament (MP) Manoj Tiwari.
In its manifesto ahead of the Delhi Assembly Elections, the BJP had promised to provide monthly financial assistance of ₹2,500 to women in Delhi if it comes to power.
The BJP defeated AAP in the elections held on February 5. The saffron party won 48 seats in the 70-member Delhi Assembly and stormed to power in the national capital after 27 years. The AAP won the remaining 22 seats.
“We are beginning registrations for our announcement of ₹2,500 to be provided to poor women in Delhi from March 8, Tiwari, the BJP Lok Sabha MP from East Delhi told news agency PTI on the sidelines of an event on March 2.
The BJP’s cash scheme is similar to those already in place in other BJP-ruled states such as ‘Ladli Behna Yojana’ in Madhya Pradesh and the ‘Ladki Bahin Yojana’in Maharashtra.
The scheme was a clear counter to AAP’s ‘Mahila Samman Yojana’, which promised ₹2,100 a month for women in the national capital if it came to power. The Congress party had also promised ₹2,500-a-month cash scheme for women.
“A list of beneficiaries will be prepared. The entire process of providing ₹2,500 to every financially poor woman will be completed in one and a half months,” Tiwari said, urging women to register for the scheme.
Opposition questions delay
The opposition AAP has criticised the BJP government for not approving the scheme in its first Cabinet meeting, as promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Former Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Atishi wrote a letter to Chief Minister Rekha Gupta last month urging her to meet the AAP legislative delegation to discuss the implementation of the ₹2500 monthly scheme for women.
Gupta has claimed that the previous AAP government left behind “empty coffers” for the new BJP regime, while assuring that all the promises made by the party to the people would be fulfilled. She also said that the the first installment of the monthly aid would be credited to the accounts of all eligible women by March 8 – the International Women’s Day.
In a statement, AAP chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar reminded the BJP of its promises to the people before coming to power.
“Before the elections, BJP had promised that every woman in Delhi would receive ₹2,500 in their accounts by March 8. BJP had also assured that LPG cylinders would be provided at ₹500, and every household would receive a free cylinder on Holi and Diwali. CM Rekha Gupta should start working on fulfilling these promises,” she said.
Delhi BJP president Virendraa Sachdeva said that the AAP leaders have become unemployed after the defeat of their party in the Delhi Assembly elections and are creating “fictitious” issues.
We are beginning registrations for our announcement of ₹2,500 to be provided to poor women in Delhi from March 8.
The BJP is determined to fulfil all the promises made in its manifesto, he said. However, there is no clarity on the registration process and the aid distribution procedure.
Meetings of concerned departments to finalise the criteria and budget allocation are on, according to sources. Once the eligibility criteria, registration process, and other requirements are finalised, the Women and Child Development (WCD) Department will send the final draft proposal to the Finance Department, an official was quoted as saying in The Indian Express.
The scheme is likely to be taken up and likely to be approved in the Delhi government’s next cabinet meeting. CM Rekha Gupta is likely to launch the scheme during a function on March 8, sources told Mint.
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