Mahila Samridhi Yojana announcement a 'jumla': Atishi

Senior AAP leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Delhi Legislative Assembly, Atishi, launched an attack on the BJP government, calling the announcement of "Mahila Samridhi Yojana" on International Women’s Day nothing more than a "jumla" (hollow promise).

Union Minister JP Nadda on Saturday announced the launch of the financial assistance to women scheme at an event in the Capital. He said the Delhi Government had set aside Rs 5,100 crore for the scheme. A four-member committee, led by Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, had been formed in this regard.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Atishi stated, "Before the Delhi elections, PM Narendra Modi made a grand promise to the women of Delhi. He assured them that on March 8, International Women’s Day, Rs 2,500 would be deposited into every woman's account. He even advised them to link their bank accounts with their phones, saying they would receive a message confirming the deposit. He called it ‘Modi ki Guarantee’."

She added that the BJP government in Delhi had exposed the truth — it was never a guarantee, just another "jumla", "The women of Delhi did not receive Rs 2,500 in their accounts today, nor did they even get a scheme. There wasn’t a registration portal, no place to enter their names, no way to submit their bank or Aadhaar details… What did they get instead? A four-member committee.”

The former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi further added that not only did the BJP government fail to deposit the promised money, it did not even introduce any scheme to facilitate the process.

“The gap between promise and reality couldn’t be starker," she remarked.

She further added that first, a committee would be formed, then it would draft a scheme, then eligibility would be decided, then registration would happen, then women would fill out forms, and after that, “only God knows when the Rs 2,500 will actually arrive."

Atishi accused the BJP of misleading the people of Delhi.