New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Media Head and spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said on Sunday that Delhi Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Convenor Saurabh Bharadwaj’s statement on the Delhi Laxmi Yojana has once again established that he is a frustrated, defeated leader who thrives on spreading lies and misinformation.
The Delhi BJP spokesperson said that it appears Bharadwaj has become accustomed to public embarrassment.
Kapoor said that had the AAP leader examined the eligibility criteria of the Punjab government’s Behan Beti Yojana before commenting on the Delhi Laxmi Yojana, he would have realised that the Punjab government has also limited the scheme’s benefits exclusively to permanent women residents of that state.
The Delhi BJP spokesperson asked Bharadwaj whether, despite serving for 11 years as a Minister and MLA, he is unaware that all social pension schemes in Delhi — such as old-age pension and widow pension — also prescribe a minimum period of residence in Delhi as an eligibility condition.
On the issue of MLA recommendation for a beneficiary, Kapoor questioned how Bharadwaj could forget that it was the Arvind Kejriwal government that made MLA recommendation mandatory in 2018 for a beneficiary to avail any welfare scheme of the Delhi government.
He added that the BJP government’s Delhi Laxmi Yojana has only recently been launched, and Bharadwaj should remain assured that within the next three years, the BJP-led state government will ensure that every eligible woman resident of Delhi receives the benefits of the scheme.
Earlier, Delhi BJP President Harsh Malhotra and General Secretary Yogita Singh on Sunday welcomed the decision of the BJP government in Delhi to open the application portal for the “Delhi Laxmi Yojana” from August 1.
They said that with this, the Rekha Gupta-led Delhi government has fulfilled an important commitment made in the BJP’s 2025 election manifesto in just 17 months.
Malhotra said that the people of Delhi and the country have seen how the previous Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government spent 10 years promising the women of Delhi a monthly allowance of Rs 1,000 but did not give them even a single rupee.
“In contrast, the BJP government has not only fulfilled its promise in just 17 months but has also fulfilled the aspirations of needy women by providing Rs 2,500.”
–IANS
rch/khz
