The BJP continued its attack on Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal over his alleged ‘freebies’ , which the saffron party on Friday claimed, are “aimed at gaining political benefits” whereas the Centre's welfare schemes are “making poor economically self-dependent and empowering them.”
Addressing a Press conference here, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said the AAP Government’s schemes were superficial and did not go anywhere to make a long-term impact. Citing a scheme of the Kejriwal Government of providing loans to school students without any guarantee, Patra claimed that out of 89 students who applied in 2021-22, only two were given loans and the maximum loan to a student under this scheme can be Rs 10 lakh. He said an RTI query now has revealed that more than Rs 19.50 crore from this scheme was spent on publicity and advertisement, while the loan given to students at maximum could be Rs 20 lakh.
The BJP leader also brushed aside the AAP’s charge that the Modi Government let go crores of rupees in the hands of defaulting businessmen, saying Kejriwal should be knowing difference between “writing-off” and “waving off”. He said writing off means that the process of recovery of loan in on and in this context the Government is trying to recover all the money from defaulting businessmen.
Claiming that the Chief Minister's sole purpose was to establish his and his party's prominence in the country, BJP national spokesperson Patra said, "Therefore he is speaking lies to the people of the country about freebies."
The BJP leader sought to explain the differences between Kejriwal's freebies and welfare schemes initiated by the Modi Government, and said the purpose of both is totally different.
Freebies are not only meant for the poor but for all, their main purpose is to grab power. Such schemes are not beneficial for the country in the long-run and have only short-term benefits for one person and one political party, he claimed.
Similarly, "Kejriwal's freebies are a bait to trap people for his own political benefits", he said.
The debate on freebies began with Prime Minister Narendra Modi terming them as “rewari culture” even as Kejriwal insisted that giving free water and free education was not “rewari culture”.
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