BJP accuses AAP of misleading Dalits, poor with unfulfilled promises

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva has accused the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, led by Arvind Kejriwal, of misleading Dalits, minorities and the poor with budgetary allocations that were never fully utilised. He alleged that despite announcing several schemes targeting these communities, a significant portion of the allocated funds remained unspent.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Sachdeva highlighted that in 2022-23 financial year, Rs 70 crore was earmarked for the Dalit Talent Scheme, but not a single rupee was spent. Similarly, between 2020-21 and 2023-24, the Kejriwal government allocated Rs 250 crore for minorities, backward classes and the poor, but only Rs 4.2 crore was actually used. He further pointed out that under the Chief Minister Student Talent Scheme, while Rs 461 crore was allocated in the same period, only Rs 32.2 crore — less than 7 per cent — was spent.

“The Kejriwal government had made grand announcements, but failed to execute them, betraying the trust of Dalits, backward classes and the poor,” Sachdeva said. He claimed that the previous government spent large sums on advertising these schemes, but did little to implement them effectively.

The BJP also criticised the state of civic amenities in Dalit settlements. While Rs 260 crore was allocated for their improvement between 2020-21 and 2023-24, actual spending stood at just Rs 120.6 crore, he added.

Sachdeva said the BJP urged Chief Minister Rekha Gupta to present a list of what they termed “deceptive announcements” made by the Kejriwal government in the Delhi Assembly.