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AAP’s Delhi welfare promise triggers fierce BJP criticism, newspaper ads, tweets fly

By News Update

New Delhi: A heated political battle has erupted in Delhi, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing the Aam AadmiParty (AAP) government of misleading citizens with false promises related to its flagship ‘Sanjeevani’ and ‘Mahila Samman’ schemes.

The conflict ignited after government departments advertisements in major newspapers cautioned Delhi residents against these schemes, claiming they hadn’t been officially notified and warned of potential data breaches associated with providing personal information. This public rebuke has escalated into a full-fledged war of words between the two parties.

The initial salvo came from BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj, who levelled strong accusations against AAP convenor and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. Swaraj described the AAP government as a “failed administration” burdened by a Rs 7,000 crore deficit and criticised both schemes. “The AAP government has consistently misled the people of Delhi and brought the state into financial ruin. The people are ready for change, and BJP will bring the transparency and governance Delhi deserves,” Swaraj said.

Regarding ‘Sanjeevani’, intended to provide health benefits for senior citizens, Swaraj cited the Delhi health secretary’s public denial of its existence, labelling it a fabrication. She further dismissed ‘Mahila Samman’, designed to provide financial aid to women, as a “hoax,” claiming the promised Rs 2,100 was merely a pre-election gimmick, as the cabinet only approved Rs 1,000, an amount previously announced.

“The promised Rs 2,100 for women is a mere gimmick,” she said accusing AAP of obstructing the implementation of central welfare schemes, particularly Ayushman Bharat.

Kejriwal swiftly responded, claiming the BJP is “badly upset” by the popularity of both schemes, and announced a press conference to address the accusations.“These people are badly upset by the Mahila Samman Yojana and Sanjeevani Yojana.”

“These people do not contest elections, they just do dishonesty. This time in the Delhi elections, their every act will be exposed before the country. These people will be exposed before the whole country,” he wrote in another X post.

The AAP, in a statement on X, echoed this sentiment, suggesting the BJP’s opposition stems from the public’s positive response to the initiatives. “Seeing the tremendous response that the ‘Mahila Samman Yojana’ and ‘Sanjeevani Yojana’ are getting from the public, the BJP is badly scared.”

“No matter how much the BJP may conspire, the public is standing with Kejriwal ji, CM Atishi Ji. We are the disciples of Baba Saheb Ambedkar ji and Bhagat Singh ji. We will neither be afraid nor bow down,” AAP’s post read.

In a joint press conference with the party convenor, Atishi claimed that BJP leader Parvesh Verma was caught red-handed distributing money at his official residence to women from local slums, allegedly in exchange for voter support.

“The BJP is distributing money to people by checking their voter cards in the New Delhi assembly constituency, from where Arvind Kejriwal contests elections. Today, Parvesh Verma was caught red-handed giving out money at his official residence, which he received as an MP. Women from various slums in the New Delhi assembly constituency were called there and given Rs 1,100 in an envelope,” Chief Minister Atishi said.

AAP leader Sanjay Singh further fueled the fire, alleging the BJP orchestrated the cautionary advertisements, accusing the party of harbouring an antipathy towards the middle class and senior citizens. Singh highlighted the ‘Sanjeevani’ scheme as a crucial initiative for protecting Delhi’s senior citizen population from the failings of private insurance companies and criticised the BJP for opposing such necessary initiatives.“As per my understanding, the BJP has a hatred towards middle-class, senior citizens, and that is why they pressurised the officials to put this advertisement. There would be action against those officials,” Singh said.

“This will be written in the manifesto, it is AAP’s guarantee, ‘kavach cards’ are being distributed, it is for the election, and they are opposing it. In Delhi, senior citizens are deserted, insurance companies deny insurance to people aged above 60 years, Kejriwal ji brought the ‘Sanjeevani Scheme’, as a guarantee,” he added.

As the row escalated, several BJP leaders joined the chorus, using newspaper ads to counter the AAP’s welfare schemes. BJP’s IT cell chief, Amit Malviya, Kapil Mishra and Shehzad Ponawalla, MP Manoj Tiwari accused AAP of orchestrating fraud and misleading the public with fake forms and deceptive schemes.

The Delhi Health and Family Welfare Department and the Women and Child Development have issued a public warning cautioning citizens against a fraudulent scheme circulating in the city. Authorities have confirmed that the scheme is entirely fictitious and has no official backing.

“Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi, does not have such supposed “Sanjeevani scheme” in existence till date. Further Health Department neither has authorised any health official or anybody to collect such personal information and data from elderly citizens, nor is the department providing any card in this regard,” a public notice by the Health and Family Welfare Department read.

“The general citizens of Delhi are advised not to fall for the false promises of this non-existent scheme as these are misleading and don’t have any authority. The general public is also requested to exercise caution in providing personal details to any unauthorised person to avoid any fraud or data breach in future,” it added.

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