Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva on Monday alleged that of all governments in Delhi’s recent past, the previous AAP government led by Arvind Kejriwal was the most guilty of betraying the dreams of Bharat Ratna Dr BR Ambedkar.
Sachdeva said that during his ten-year rule, Kejriwal politically exploited Dalit and oppressed communities by merely displaying Babasaheb’s pictures while ignoring his core messages and doing little for their educational, social, and economic upliftment.
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The Delhi BJP chief alleged that although portraits of Babasaheb were placed in secretariat rooms, the government showed no serious intent to implement the three educational schemes named after him or improve the condition of Dalit colonies.
Sachdeva further stated that the Kejriwal government’s approach to Dalit upliftment was limited to hoardings and photographs of Babasaheb, presenting grand promises of development in Dalit colonies between 2020 and 2024.
He pointed out that while Rs. 260 crore was allocated in the budget for those four years, only Rs 121 crore was actually spent—an amount nearly equivalent to what the Kejriwal government reportedly spent on constructing a lavish residence and furnishing ministers’ offices in the secretariat.
According to Sachdeva, the AAP government had announced three schemes under Dr Ambedkar’s name targeting Dalits, backward castes, minorities, and economically weaker sections, with budget allocations accordingly—but these turned out to be hollow announcements with no meaningful implementation.
In 2020, the Kejriwal government introduced the Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Pratibha Vikas Yojana for the welfare of Scheduled Caste students, allocating Rs 180 crore between 2020 and 2024. However, only Rs 4.4 crore was spent on the scheme—most of it likely on publicity, claimed Sachdeva.
Similarly, another version of the same scheme targeting students from minority, backward caste, and economically weaker backgrounds had a budget of Rs 250 crore over four years, but only Rs 4.2 crore was spent—again, allegedly on publicity.
Sachdeva demanded that Kejriwal answer the Dalit, minority, and economically weaker communities of Delhi, especially on Babasaheb’s birth anniversary, as to why only a fraction of the Rs 891 crore allocated for their educational upliftment was actually utilized.
Meanwhile, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor stated that it was unfortunate that even on the 134th birth anniversary of Dr Ambedkar, Delhi AAP chief Saurabh Bharadwaj chose to mislead people with hollow references to Dr. Ambedkar’s image, instead of apologizing for the party’s decade-long politics of deception with Dalits and backward communities.
Kapoor added that rather than involving Dalits in symbolic politics over Babasaheb’s image, Bharadwaj should explain why the Kejriwal government spent only Rs 121 crore—less than half of the Rs 260 crore allocated—for the development of Dalit colonies.
