The Delhi BJP Mahila Morcha on Thursday staged a strong protest near the residence of former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him of allegedly misleading women, and offering false promises under the name of ‘Mahila Samman’.
The women protesters of the Delhi BJP including Mahila Morcha president Richa Pandey Mishra and party leaders Shyam Bala and Priyal Bhardwaj, crossed the police barricades, as they headed towards AAP chief’s residence. They were detained by the police, and were released later.
BJP leader Mishra speaking at the protest alleged that the AAP government has betrayed the women in the national capital by introducing fraudulent schemes.
Mishra, pointing towards the registration drive by AAP leaders for the Mahila Samman scheme, alleged that by setting up camps and collecting Aadhaar cards, voter IDs, and mobile numbers, the party is planning a large scale scam.
Delhi’s saffron party leader claimed that women in the city will not tolerate such deceit, and cited AAP’s unfulfilled promise of giving Rs 1,000 in Punjab.
She questioned how the AAP plans to provide Rs 2,100 in Delhi, when they could not give Rs 1,000 in Punjab, dismissing it as yet another empty poll promise.
BJP women leader Shyam Bala criticised the AAP government for issuing public warnings in newspapers, asking women not to share their personal details with anyone, and on the other hand, still conducting allegedly deceptive campaigns.
Present during the protest, another saffron party leader Shikha Rai alleged that Kejriwal has misled women for the past decade in view of political gains.
She further suspected that a sudden announcement of Rs 2100 monthly assistance without a sanction from the cabinet, particularly with the signs of impending electoral defeat, highlighted AAP’s desperation, especially when their similar promises in Punjab remain unfulfilled.
The protest, led by Mahila Morcha president Richa Pandey Mishra, saw participation of vice-president and other leaders of the women wing and scores of supporters.
On Wednesday, Delhi government’s Women and Child Development Department had issued a public notification saying that “any political party collecting information from applicants in the name of the ‘Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana’ was committing fraud and has no authority”.
This triggered a controversy, as the advertisement came a day after AAP ministers, MLAs, and volunteers began their campaign to register people for the said scheme.