NEW DELHI: The BJP on Tuesday criticised AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal for making election promises to priests under the newly introduced ‘Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana,’ while claiming that imams, whose salaries were announced earlier, have not been paid for the past 17 months.
BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj accused Kejriwal of playing electoral politics, stating, “On one hand, Kejriwal is making promises for priests, yet the imams, who have been receiving salaries for years, haven’t been paid for 17 months. When these imams protested outside his residence, instead of addressing their concerns, Kejriwal deployed Punjab Police to intimidate them.”
Swaraj further alleged that Kejriwal, known for his “appeasement politics,” had only offered the imams an “honorarium” instead of proper salaries. She challenged him to take immediate action, saying, “If Kejriwal 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 he won’t, because all he wants is to run an electoral bluff.”
Swaraj also questioned Kejriwal’s sudden focus on religious figures, accusing him of disregarding religion for years.
“For the past decade, Kejriwal has ignored religious institutions, and now, with elections approaching, he suddenly remembers priests and granthis. Let him explain why he has neglected pastors and priests from churches,” she added.