BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj on Tuesday called the 'Pujari Granthi Samman Yojna' announced by AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal an "appeasement" move ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls.
In a press conference, the New Delhi MP challenged Kejriwal to implement the schemes announced by him, including the 'Mahila Samman Yojna', saying there is no Model Code of Conduct in place.
Kejriwal on Monday announced monthly honorarium of Rs 18,000 for all the Hindu temple priests and granthis of Gurudwaras after AAP returns to power in February.<Bansuri said the AAP government was not able to pay Rs 18,000 to Imams of mosques for months due to lack of funds and yet Kejriwal was trying to appease the priests and granthis just before the elections.
“On one side, Kejriwal is making electoral promises for priests, yet the imams who have been receiving salaries for years haven’t been paid for the last 17 months. When these imams protested outside his residence, instead of resolving their issues, he deployed Punjab Police’s batons for intimidation,” stated Swaraj.
She questioned why no honorarium was paid to the priests and granthis in the last 10 years. Now, at the time of elections, he is promising them honorarium in a "deceitful" manner, she charged.
She further alleged that “Arvind Kejriwal, known for appeasement politics, has only been pacifying the imams by calling it an ‘honorarium.’ However, if he genuinely cares about priests and granthis, there is no election in Delhi right now, nor is there any code of conduct in place. He could ask Chief Minister Atishi to convene a cabinet meeting today and implement this immediately. But Kejriwal won’t do this because all he wants is to run his electoral bluff.”
Bansuri Swaraj asserted that Kejriwal’s interest in priests and granthis is purely election-driven. “For the past decade, Kejriwal has been disrespecting religion and religious places, and now, as elections near, he suddenly remembers priests and granthis. Let him explain why he forgot the pastors priests from churches,” she added.
She accused Kejriwal of engaging in deceitful politics by making baseless promises to priests, granthis, pastors, women, and the elderly.
“He promised schools but spread a web of liquor shops. Now, as elections loom, Kejriwal suddenly recalls temples. This clearly depicts his appeasement strategy,” concluded Swaraj.
