Delhi govt to raise financial aid to women to ₹2100 from ₹1000 after polls: Arvind Kejriwal

Delhi govt to raise financial aid to women to ₹2100 from ₹1000 after polls: Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi, With Assembly polls drawing closer, A supremo Arvind Kejriwal Thursday announced the roll out of the Delhi government's Mukhya Mantri Mahila Samman Yojana, and promised to raise the monthly aid from ₹1,000 to ₹2,100 post-elections.

Delhi govt to raise financial aid to women to ₹2100 from ₹1000 after polls: Arvind Kejriwal

He, however, clarified the money could be credited into beneficiaries' accounts only after elections as the dates are likely to be announced soon.

Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, meanwhile, said if the Model Code of Conduct comes into force after January 13, the first installment will be transferred into the bank accounts of eligible women before elections.

Kejriwal announced the roll out of the scheme while speaking at an event organised at the A headquarters, and attended by a large number of the party's women workers and supporters.

The registration for the Mukhya Mantri Mahila Samman Yojana, which was announced in the budget 2024-25 by then finance minister and now chief minister Atishi, will begin from Friday, he said.

The scheme originally proposed to provide ₹1,000 per month to all eligible women in Delhi aged above 18 years. "The registration for the scheme will start tomorrow. It will be for ₹2,100," Kejriwal said amid cheers of the gathering.

"This scheme is for empowering women and addressing their financial needs. While the BJP calls it free 'revdis,' I see it as a step towards strengthening our society. The BJP asks from where the money will come, but I said we will give free electricity, and we did it," Kejriwal said.

The A leader also expressed confidence his party will perform magnificently in the polls, and urged women to actively support them. "If all women work together, we will secure more than 60 seats," he said.

The A, pitted against a confident BJP trying to upstage it in the polls due before February next year, believes the announcement would boost it chances in the elections.

Kejriwal asserted that he was a "magician" of accounts and knew how to save money to fund the scheme.

BJP leaders who raised questions about the scheme and created doubts "should not worry any longer", he said.

The A government allocated ₹2,000 crore for the scheme under the budget. The eligibility criteria of the potential beneficiaries laid down that the woman should not be employed with the government or receiving pension, and they should not be paying GST or income tax.

The scheme is likely to benefit around 45 lakh eligible women, a significant number which the A believes would help the party bolster its performance in the poll, especially because of the promise to raise the amount to ₹2,100 after the elections.

The BJP, which is yet to announce its manifesto, attacked Kejriwal, asking why the A government did not implement such a scheme for women in Punjab despite a similar announcement made by him before the elections in the state in 2022.

"Kejriwal is only repeating his fake promise. Even during the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi, they got women to fill up forms but paid nothing to them," Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva claimed.

Delhi Chief Minister Atishi said the honorarium amount will be raised to ₹2,100 after the elections.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.