Delhi govt departments distance themselves from ruling party AAP's promised schemes

THE DELHI government's Women and Child Development and Health departments issued public notices on Wednesday distancing themselves from the ruling AAP's promised schemes of providing ₹2,100 to women and free treatment for the elderly, triggering a fresh row ahead of assembly polls.

The two departments also cautioned the people against providing personal details to anyone on the pretext of registration for "non-existent" schemes, saying any private individual or political party collecting such physical forms or information is "fraudulent and without any authority".

The development, which came days after AAP leaders launched the exercise of registering people for the Mukhya Mantri Mahila Samman Yojana and Sanjeevani Yojana with much fanfare, left the AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal furious.

Kejriwal, who is leading the registration drive, alleged that the BJP was rattled by the two schemes and claimed that Chief Minister Atishi could be arrested in a "fake" case in the coming days.

"They are completely rattled with Mahila Samman Yojna and Sanjeevani Yojna. They have hatched a plan to come up with a fake case and arrest Chief Minister Atishi in the next few days," he said on X.

He also claimed that before Atishi's arrest, raids would be conducted against senior AAP leaders.

BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj had on Tuesday claimed that she spoke to the health secretary of the Delhi government and was informed that there was no "Sanjeevani Yojna" in existence.

Both the schemes were announced by Kejriwal ahead of Assembly polls in February next year and AAP had started registrations for the schemes in campaign mode.

A public notice by the Department of Women and Child Development stated, "It is clarified that no such scheme has been notified by the Government of Delhi."

If and when the scheme begins, the department will launch a digital portal for eligible individuals to submit their applications online as per the approved guidelines, it added.

Since no such scheme exists, the question of physical forms for registration under this non-existent scheme does not arise, read the notice. (PTI)