Delhi: BJP’s women wing protests against AAP’s aid scheme

The AAP hit back, claiming that the BJP’s opposition reflects their lack of commitment to women’s empowerment

The women’s wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday staged a protest near Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener chief Arvind Kejriwal’s residence, accusing him of “cheating the women of Delhi” with the proposed Mahila Samman Yojana, a scheme which offers ₹2,100 per month to the Capital’s women.

BJP Mahila Morcha members protest outside Arvind Kejriwal's residence on Thursday. (HT Archive)

The AAP hit back, claiming that the BJP’s opposition reflects their lack of commitment to women’s empowerment.

The Delhi government, in its 2024-25 budget, announced the Mukhya Mantri Mahila Samman Yojana for a monthly payment of ₹1,000 for all women voters in the Capital. Though the scheme is yet to take off, Kejriwal on December 12 said that the amount would be raised to ₹2,100 if the AAP retains power in Delhi, and the party has been running a registration drive for the scheme over the last four days.

However, the state women and child development (WCD) department on December 25 issued a public notice, warning against the AAP holding registration drive for the scheme, and said that the project is “non-existent” and is yet to be notified by the Delhi government.

On Thursday, BJP workers marched from Ashoka Road to 5, Feroze Shah Road — Kejriwal’s current residence — to protest against the scheme, but were stopped en route by police.

BJP women’s wing president Richa Pandey said the AAP gathering personal information is part of a larger “scam”. “Under the guise of the Mahila Samman scheme, the AAP is organising camps to collect Aadhaar numbers, voter IDs and phone numbers, which is part of a larger scam,” she alleged.

Meanwhile, BJP councillor Shikha Rai said that the scheme is a sign of “desperation”.

“For the last decade, Arvind Kejriwal has only misled women in Delhi for political gains. The sudden announcement of ₹2,100 without cabinet sanction, particularly with clear signs of impending electoral defeat, highlights AAP’s desperation, especially when similar promises in Punjab remain unfulfilled even after 2.5 years of governance,” she said.

During the demonstration, some protesters climbed atop the police barricades and raised slogans against Kejriwal and the AAP, and were briefly detained by police, but were released later on.

Responding to the BJP’s protest, the AAP said that the scheme is a “ground-breaking initiative” which has seen an overwhelming response.

“The BJP has consistently resisted measures that uplift our mothers and sisters… The public has faith in Arvind Kejriwal’s leadership, trusting that once he is re-elected as chief minister, ₹2,100 will be deposited monthly into the accounts of every woman,” Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said.

“The BJP has always been against women. They don’t want women to be empowered, to become strong, or to have some money in their hands. The BJP doesn’t want this; that’s why they are opposing it,” he said.