In order to address the AAP delegation’s concerns and move on with the plan, Atishi urged Chief Minister Rekha Gupta to meet with them on Sunday.
New Delhi: In a letter to recently sworn-in Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi questioned why the BJP government had not approved a financial aid plan for women during its first cabinet meeting on Thursday.
In her letter, Atishi requested a meeting with Ms. Gupta and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Legislature Party on Sunday to talk about the implementation of the plan that would give Delhi women Rs 2,500 a month.
“First of all, heartiest congratulations to you on assuming the charge of the post of Chief Minister of Delhi,” the letter begins. “In a rally held on January 31, 2025, during the election campaign, Shri Narendra Modi ji, the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the nation’s prime minister, assured the mothers and sisters of Delhi that a plan of Rs 2,500 per month would be approved for them in the first cabinet meeting following the formation of the BJP government. This is Modi’s promise, he declared.
She added that the plan was not approved at the first cabinet meeting of the BJP-led Delhi government on February 20. “The mothers and sisters of Delhi had believed in Modi ji’s guarantee, and now they feel cheated,” she stated.
In order to address the AAP delegation’s concerns and move on with the plan, Atishi urged the Chief Minister to meet with them on Sunday.
Atishi, who defeated Ramesh Bidhuri of the BJP to win the Kalkaji assembly seat in the Delhi elections, also blasted the ruling party during a press conference yesterday for not fulfilling its electoral pledges. She claimed that both Prime Minister Modi and JP Nadda, the national head of the BJP, had promised that the plan would be approved in the first cabinet meeting and that all qualified women would receive Rs 2,500 in their bank accounts by March 8 prior to the Delhi elections.
With PM Modi and Ms. Gupta’s campaign posters on display, Atishi urged the BJP to provide an explanation for the anticipated deposit date of the promised financial aid. She questioned, “Was this just another election gimmick?”
During the Delhi election campaign, the AAP and BJP made conflicting pledges regarding financial assistance for women. The AAP has continued to put pressure on the new government to keep its promises after the election results, which saw the BJP overthrow the AAP’s rule in the capital.
Party leader and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal met with the 22 freshly elected AAP MLAs at his home on February 8, the day after the AAP was overthrown in Delhi. Atishi reaffirmed after the meeting that the AAP will make sure the BJP fulfilled its pledge to give women Rs 2,500 a month by March 8, keep 300 units of free power, and carry on with other public welfare initiatives.
The BJP’s intention to present 14 Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports in the upcoming assembly session was also rejected by Atishi, who described it as a regular issue. According to the BJP, these reports, which will be presented in the assembly session beginning Monday, would emphasise the accomplishments of the former AAP government.
On February 20, Ms. Gupta took the oath of office as the Chief Minister of Delhi and six other MLAs were appointed to her cabinet.
The newly established Delhi administration approved the execution of the Ayushman Bharat health insurance system, talked about the Mahila Samridhi Yojana, and decided to table 14 pending CAG reports in the first session of the eighth Assembly during its first cabinet meeting that same day.
In the elections held on February 5, the BJP won 48 of the 70 assembly seats, the AAP secured 22, and the Congress received zero votes.
