Delhi minister claims L-G Baijal ‘objected’ to AAP govt’s Teerth Yatra scheme

The Delhi government’s Teerth Yatra scheme proposes to send 77,000 elderly people, who are bonafide residents of Delhi, on religious trips at a cost of ₹53 crore to the state exchequer.

Delhi revenue minister Kailash Gahlot on Friday alleged that the Lt Governor Anil Baijal had “objected” to the government’s proposed ‘Teerth Yatra’ scheme for the elderly, prompting chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to accuse the L-G of “obstructing” every AAP project.

Delhi revenue minister Kailash Gahlot on Twitter claimed that lieutenant governor Anil Baijal had blocked a proposal by the Delhi government. (Sonu Mehta/HT File Photo)

Under the scheme, which was proposed in the 2018-19 Delhi Budget, the Kejriwal government plans to send senior citizens on pilgrimage for free of cost.

The chief minister also asked the BJP not to “obstruct” his government’s work.

“I feel v v sad that LG is practically obstructing every scheme and every project of Del Govt. How do we run govt like this? My appeal to BJP - Don’t obstruct our work. I challenge your govts in other states to compete with us in work (sic),” Kejriwal said on Twitter.

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The Delhi government proposed to set aside ₹53 crore for the scheme that aims to send 77,000 elderly people, who are bonafide residents of Delhi, on religious trips.

Gahlot alleged that Lt Governor (L-G) Anil Baijal “objected” to the scheme and said it should be “restricted” to people in the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category.

Baijal has forgotten that many children do not support their old parents, who will be happy to avail the government’s scheme, he said.

“Now LG objects to Teerth Yatra Yojana. LG wants it to be restricted to BPL. LG forgets that many children do not support their old parents.”

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“They would be happy to receive govt support. And every govt facility should not be restricted only to BPL (sic),” the minister tweeted.

During the Budget presentation last week, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia had said, “But approval of Lt Governor is still awaited. Hopefully, he will approve this important scheme for senior citizens of Delhi at the earliest.”