Kejriwal, Atishi committing 'political fraud' with women, elderly: BJP

The BJP on Wednesday accused AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi Chief Minister Atishi of committing a "political fraud" with women and elderly in the city by promising them benefits of non-existing schemes ahead of Assembly polls.

The party also challenged the ruling AAP and Atishi to show notifications of the schemes.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva in a press conference said that there is still time for Kejriwal to apologise to Delhi's public for "fake" 'Mahila Samman' and 'Sanjeevani' schemes.

Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta said that many persons who were registered for the scheme lost money because they shared their personal details like bank accounts. He asked all such persons to contact the BJP, assuring the party will help them recover their lost money.

"Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi stand exposed. They are guilty of political fraud in the eyes of the public," Sachdeva said, referring to public notices issued by the Delhi government distancing itself from announcement by Kejriwal of Rs 2100 per month for women and free treatment of elderly at government and private hospitals under 'Sanjeevani Yojna' after AAP returned to power.

Sachdeva said that AAP leaders promised to fix faulty water bills, ensure clean drinking water and improve the roads only after being re-elected to power.

"When these false promises began to fail, Kejriwal has tried repackaging his previously announced Mahila Samman scheme, but it is not working. After deceiving women in Punjab with the same scheme, Kejriwal tried to sell the dream of Rs 2,100 per month to women in Delhi," he charged.

Sachdeva said AAP leaders' activities of registering people mimic the actions of "digital fraudsters" who collect personal data from people for potential misuse.

"Both schemes, introduced without proper notifications, are misleading people, especially women and senior citizens," he claimed.

Kailash Gahlot, who recently resigned as a minister in the AAP government and joined the BJP, claimed in a post on X that Kejriwal and Atishi lied that the 'Mahila Samman' scheme was notified. He asked them to make the notification public.

AAP led by Kejriwal has started registration of eligible women and elderly across Delhi for the two schemes.

"For the first time in history, the chief minister and the ruling party are spreading false information about schemes that forced the officials to issue public notices to caution the Delhi people,' Sachdeva charged.

He said Atishi, who holds a constitutional position, should clarify whether the Delhi government has any legally approved such scheme.

The Delhi BJP president also slammed Kejriwal and accused him of "spreading confusion" by claiming possible arrest of Atishi after his lies were exposed. "The truth is that Atishi is put under the dock today because of the fake schemes and false announcements by Kejriwal," he added.

Gupta alleged that under the 'Mahila Samman' scheme, even male applicants are being made to fill out forms. They are also being registered, which is a "highly ridiculous" situation, he said.

"The OTP is being taken from male applicants, and their registration is being done. He questioned how a man can benefit from a scheme that is supposed to be for women. This clearly shows that the roots of this fraud are very deep," he charged.

He alleged that the OTP generated during registration for the scheme in many cases were used to fraudulently withdraw money from bank accounts of the people.