New Delhi [India], March 6 : Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi MLA Gopal Rai criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday for not fulfilling the promises made prior to Assembly elections and urging the Delhi government to implement the financial aid scheme of giving Rs 2,500 per month to the women on Delhi, also called the Mahila Samriddhi Yojana.
"Before elections, BJP had promised, so the people of Delhi want the budget to be prepared based on that. The first guarantee was to give women of Delhi Rs 2,500, and they had said that by 8th March, women would get the financial aid in their accounts," Gopal Rai told ANI.
Rai also mentioned that a meeting of AAP councillors had taken place earlier today, where the leaders discussed how to fulfil their duties in the "new atmosphere," referencing the BJP coming to power after 10 years of AAP rule in Delhi.
"Today, we held a meeting with councillors. We spoke to them and took their review. We discussed how we could fulfil our role in MCD amid the new atmosphere. People have elected them. They will continue their work in their respective wards; discussions were held on that," he said.
Rai's comments on Mahila Samriddhi Yojana come amidst Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta talking about the upcoming budget of Delhi, with her assuring people that the Budget will "fulfil the expectations of people." Meanwhile, AAP leader Rituraj Jha, along with other AAP volunteers, put up a banner at the ITO Flyover on Wednesday to protest against the BJP-led Delhi government's delay in implementing the scheme.
Earlier, Delhi Assembly Leader of Opposition Atishi, along with AAP MLAs and volunteers, staged a protest against the BJP-led Delhi government on the issue too.
Speaking to ANI, AAP Leader Rituraj Jha said, "During a rally in Dwarka on January 30th, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had guaranteed that Rs 2,500 per month would be transferred to the accounts of mothers and sisters. He said that with Women's Day just three days away, on March 8th, Rs 2,500 would be credited to the accounts of all mothers and sisters."
Jha added that the women of Delhi are eagerly waiting for this promise to be fulfilled. Further, he said, "You may have made promises across the country that were later dismissed as jokes, but in Delhi, you made a guarantee--' this is Modi's guarantee'--that Rs 2,500 would come on Women's Day."