The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress have accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of delaying the delivery on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise of providing ₹2,500 in financial assistance to women in Delhi. On International Women’s Day, AAP leader and Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Atishi, criticized the BJP, calling the scheme a “jumla” (hollow promise), while BJP leaders defended the initiative and countered AAP’s own financial commitments to women.
Atishi alleged that instead of fulfilling its promise, the BJP has only set up a four-member committee that drafted the scheme. “Before the Delhi elections, PM Narendra Modi made a grand promise to the women of Delhi. He assured them that on March 8, ₹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.’. But instead, the BJP government in Delhi has exposed the truth—it was never a guarantee, just another ‘jumla,’” she added.
The former Delhi chief minister further criticised the lack of a structured process for disbursing funds. “Not only did the women of Delhi not receive ₹2,500 in their accounts, but they didn’t even get a scheme. There wasn’t a registration portal, no place to enter their names, and no way to submit their bank or Aadhaar details,” Atishi added. She questioned the prolonged process, saying, “First, a committee would be formed. Then it would draft a scheme, then eligibility would be decided, then registration would happen, and then women would fill out forms. After that, only God knows when the ₹2,500 will actually arrive.”
AAP’s Delhi convenor Gopal Rai also alleged that the ₹5,100 crore financial allocation for the scheme was merely an eyewash, as the decision cannot be taken by the cabinet. “BJP leaders know how a budget is made and how schemes are announced. They are trying to mislead people. Budget allocations are not approved by a cabinet. These are presented in the annual budget in the assembly session. In fact, even mentioning budget allocations beforehand is not allowed,” Rai added.
In response, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva countered the allegations, calling Atishi’s statements irresponsible. He accused AAP of failing to deliver on its own commitments. “It’s regrettable that AAP leader Atishi has again made irresponsible statements regarding the women’s honorarium. BJP does not wish to politicise the women’s honourarium, but if AAP wants to do so, then Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann must answer why, after 37 months of running the Punjab government, the women’s honor pension has still not been implemented. Were Arvind Kejriwal’s announcements of women’s pensions in Punjab in 2021 and in the 2024 Delhi budget just false election promises and ‘jumla’?” he said.
Meanwhile, Delhi Congress president Devendra Yadav also criticized the Delhi government’s scheme, saying it would benefit only a small fraction of the population. “This scheme will, in effect, benefit less than 10 percent of the over 71 lakh women voters in the Capital, who had overwhelmingly supported the BJP in the Assembly elections. The CM also did not make any mention of providing cooking gas cylinders for ₹500, with prices of daily-use items soaring sky-high,” Yadav said.
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