Chunav Manch: BJP Lok Sabha MP Bansuri Swaraj on Saturday sharply criticised former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the newly announced 'Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana.' The scheme, which offers an honorarium of Rs 18,000 per month to priests (pujaris) of temples and 'granthis' of Gurudwaras, was launched ahead of the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections. Swaraj accused Kejriwal of using the initiative to appease voters for electoral gain, calling it a form of "Arvind’s appeasement politics" during the Chunav Manch debate.
Bansuri Swaraj calls for immediate implementation
Addressing the Chunav Manch, Swaraj remarked, "If this scheme is truly for the welfare of religious leaders, why wait for the elections to end? It should be implemented immediately." She also questioned the timing of the scheme, saying that Kejriwal had only remembered the religious community’s needs as elections neared.
In a move to promote the initiative, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, accompanied by his wife Sunita Kejriwal, visited the Shri Marghat Wale Baba Mandir at Kashmere Gate and officially launched the registration for the Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana, reiterating his commitment to supporting religious leaders across the city.
Attacking the Kejriwal government, the BJP leader said when the people of Delhi were longing for medicines during the pandemic, he was busy building a 'sheesh mahal' (palace) for himself.'Ek hai to safe hain' will be a slogan in Delhi polls: Bansuri
Speaking on BJP's popular slogan - 'Ek hain toh safe hain' (United, we are safe), Swaraj said the slogan would be echoed in the national capital.
"Whenever the AAP and the INDI alliance do divisive politics to divide the society in the name of religion and other issues, we will push unity initiatives, because for us the nation comes first," she asserted.