Atishi says women voters are feeling betrayed
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The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) continued its attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the women’s aid scheme on Sunday with party MLA and Leader of the Opposition Atishi questioning the relevance of the committee formed to implement the scheme.

“Whenever the [BJP] government wants to bury an issue, it forms a committee. That is exactly what the BJP has done. By forming this committee, the BJP has effectively shelved the ₹2,500 aid scheme for women,” Ms. Atishi said.

Countering the charges, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said his party was following due process and asked Ms. Atishi when women of Punjab will receive the monthly aid of ₹1,000 promised by AAP in the run-up to the 2022 Punjab Assembly election.

On International Women’s Day on Saturday, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced that her Cabinet has approved the Mahila Samriddhi Yojana — a key poll promise of the BJP to give aid of ₹2,500 per month to eligible women in the city. She added that a budgetary allocation of ₹5,100 crore has been earmarked for the scheme and that a four-member committee  has been constituted to implement it.

Ms. Atishi reminded the BJP that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured women in Delhi that “₹2,500 would be credited to their bank accounts by March 8”. The former CM said Mr. Modi was “aware that such schemes take time to implement”. “Still he announced the unrealistic promise knowing that he would not fulfil it.”

However, Mr. Sachdeva said, “AAP used to announce a scheme, lie, and then run away. But we will deliver on our promise.”

LPG cylinders

Meanwhile, senior AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj asked the BJP whether beneficiaries will receive a free LPG cylinder on Holi. “Only five days left for Holi. The BJP must not repeat its usual tactic of forming another panel on Holi to decide who will receive a free LPG cylinder,” he said.

Ahead of the Delhi election, the BJP had promised to provide LPG cylinders at ₹500 each to women from low-income families and one free cylinder each during Holi and Deepavali.