BJP workers protest against AAP Govt's failure to provide old age, widow pensions

New Delhi [India], August 23 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers under the leadership of Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva staged a protest outside the Department of Social Welfare office in Lajpat Nagar on Friday against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government's failure to provide old age and widow pensions.
Speaking on the occasion, Sachdeva said that the Kejriwal government had failed to fulfil its basic responsibilities, and therefore, the people of Delhi had decided that Kejriwal must go.
"Any government's primary duty is to provide social pensions to the elderly and widows in a timely manner, but the Delhi government has halted these pensions. The late former Chief Minister of Delhi, Madan Lal Khurana, introduced this scheme, but the Kejriwal government, with its double standards, has stopped these pensions for the last five months. This pension, which helps the elderly purchase their medicines and provides support in their old age, has been stopped by the Kejriwal government as part of dirty politics," he said.
Sachdeva further stated that the Kejriwal government had money to build lavish residences, engage in scams, and hire expensive lawyers after indulging in corruption, but no money to release pensions for the elderly.
"After stopping the pensions for the last five months, when the BJP has taken to the streets, AAP minister Atishi Marlena has announced through a press conference that the elderly's pensions will be issued from today. Atishi's statement is a victory for BJP," he said.
"The Aam Aadmi Party is chanting across Delhi that Kejriwal will return, but the people of Delhi and the BJP have decided that Kejriwal will now go. The people of Delhi have already shown this by giving all seven Lok Sabha seats to BJP, as Kejriwal used to say that if you vote for the broom, he will not go to jail. The people of Delhi voted for BJP and also ensured that Kejriwal goes to jail," Sachdeva added.
State General Secretary and MP Shri Yogendra Chandolia said, "On the day of Rakhi, elderly women in Delhi, waiting for their pensions, were deceived by the Kejriwal government. The BJP demands that all pending pensions from March onwards be immediately released and the 1,80,000 vacancies be filled."
He added that if the Delhi government did not do this, BJP would continue to be the voice of the elderly on the streets and would not let the Delhi government rest until the pensions were released.
State General Secretary Vishnu Mittal said that the Kejriwal government had withheld pensions for the elderly and women for the last five months, but their double standards now had been exposed to the people of Delhi. When elections were near, the Kejriwal government talked about taking the elderly to pilgrimage sites, but now, by withholding their pensions for the last eight months, they had shown their true face.
On the same, former MP Shri Ramesh Bidhuri said, "Until Arvind Kejriwal releases the pensions for the elderly, we will continue to protest in this manner and give Kejriwal a 24-hour ultimatum. The pension that the Kejriwal government has stopped is not their contribution but was initiated by former Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana to give respect to the elderly and widows by providing them with pensions."
Leader of the Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta said, "When the elderly of Delhi go to the bank to check on their pensions, they are told there is no money, and when they ask the government, they are met with closed doors. The Kejriwal government, which runs the administration from jail, is unable to even release pensions for the elderly, let alone perform any other duties."
"Since 2018, not a single new elderly person has been given a pension, and the withheld pensions for the last five months should be released immediately. Over the last seven years, there has been a vacancy of one lakh pensions, and 15 per cent of pensioners who passed away have not had their vacancies filled. Moreover, the government has not even made any budgetary provisions for pensions," he added.
BJP leader Pawan Sharma said, "The Delhi government has been continuously lying by not giving pensions to the poor and not releasing pensions for the elderly, which is why BJP is on the streets today to raise the voice of the elderly and widows. Our demand is that the AAP government should immediately release the pensions for the poor, widows, and elderly women."
Earlier on Friday, Delhi minister Atishi announced that the elderly in Delhi will be receiving their pensions after a five-month delay, which she attributed to the central government's actions of stalling the pensions for about 1 lakh elderly individuals.
The protest was coordinated by BJP workers Brijesh Rai and Neeraj Gupta and saw the presence of former BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri, MLA Abhay Verma, South Delhi district in-charge Jai Prakash, media chief Praveen Shankar Kapoor, district co-incharge Aditya Jha, councillors Arjun Marwah, Shikha Rai, Yogesh Verma, Sandeep Kapoor, Vinod Sahrawat, Ravi Negi, Shashi Chandna, Gajendra Daral, former councillor Neeraj Gupta, BJP leader Sarika Jain, Shyam Sharma, Vikram Bidhuri, Amit Gupta, Tarvinder Singh Marwah, and Neeraj Basoya, among other officials and BJP workers.