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In Atishi's Delhi budget speech, focus on Lord Ram, education; BJP claims ‘duplicity’
The total outlay for Delhi's budget is ₹76000 crore.
New Delhi: Delhi finance minister Atishi on Monday presented the city's budget for 2024-25, revealing the Arvind Kejriwal government's focus on education. In her maiden budget speech, the politician proposed allocation of ₹16,396 crore for the education sector. ‘Lord Ram’ and ‘Ram Rajya’ also found frequent mention in her speech.
The total outlay for Delhi's budget is ₹76000 crore.
Atishi called Arvind Kejriwal a ray of hope. "This is a moment of pride that Kejriwal government is presenting its tenth budget. I am not just presenting the tenth budget but a picture of changing Delhi…We are working hard towards realising the dream of Ram Rajya," she said.
Atishi said the people of Delhi trusted Kejriwal because of his honesty. She said all the AAP MLAs are inspired by Lord Ram. She added that AAP leaders are committed to bringing Ram Rajya in Delhi.
"Arvind Kejriwal has emerged as a ray of hope for the people of Delhi. People of Delhi have trusted him because of his honesty and have made him the CM with a thumping majority. All the legislators who are present here are inspired by Lord Ram, and that's why we have taken a 'sanklap' to fulfill the dream of 'Ram Rajya' in Delhi," she added.
Atishi said saving a person's life is also Ram Rajya.
"However, we all know that people were afraid of helping accident victims in Delhi a few years ago. That's why we started the 'Farishtey Dilli Ke' scheme. Under this, the Delhi government will bear the cost of expenses of the accident victims. As a part of this scheme, we have saved 22,000 lives in Delhi," she said.
Atishi said the Delhi government will allocate ₹8,685 crore for health sector.
She also said that the Arvind Kejriwal government will give ₹1000 per month to every woman aged 18 and above, under the Mukhya Mantri Mahila Samman Yojna.
Also read: Delhi Budget: AAP government to provide ₹1000 to every woman aged 18 yrs & above
Arvind Kejriwal calls himself a Lord Hanuman devotee. He often visits Hanuman temples in Delhi. Other AAP leaders also organise sundarkand events.
AAP leaders, however, steered clear of the consecration ceremony of Ayodhya's Ram Temple in January. Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann visited Ayodhya last month.
Reacting to the budget speech, BJP leader Bansuri Swaraj said the AAP government has revealed its duplicity.
"It shows the duplicity of the (Delhi) government, which is deeply indulged in corruption, talking about 'Ram Rajya'. It doesn’t even suit them. There's nothing new in today’s (Delhi) budget," he said.
With inputs from PTI, ANI
