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photo-article-logo Thursday, 02 January 2025

Kejriwal does a Mamata with priests' dole vow, BJP slams AAP 'political stunt'

Delhi chief minister promises Rs 18,000 monthly allowance for Hindu and Sikh priests, like the Bengal CM who gives Rs 3000 for Muslim clerics

Our Web Desk Published 30.12.24, 07:56 PM
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Arvind Kejriwal (PTI)
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AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal announced the ‘Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana’ on Monday, pledging a monthly allowance of Rs 18,000 for Hindu temple priests and gurdwara granthis if his party is re-elected.

"Pujaris and granthis are an important part of our society, but they are often a neglected section. For the first time in the country, we are introducing a scheme to support them, under which they will receive a monthly allowance of Rs 18,000," Kejriwal said.

The timing of the announcement, ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls early next year, has led the BJP and the Congress to question the AAP’s intentions.

The BJP said they will take the matter to the court.

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Virendra Sachdeva (PTI)

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva accused AAP of political opportunism. "BJP has been struggling for a long time, demanding allowance for priests. We have gheraoed AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal's house many times with this demand... Kejriwal cannot escape the curse of those priests. He is now remembering Lord Ram when the elections are here. We took this to court and the case will be heard on January 21, 2025. Now, they have announced this scheme to avoid answering why they gave allowances to maulvis and imams since 2013 and not to priests."

BJP’s Delhi North-West MP Yoginder Chandolia said, "After ten years, the temple priests are now being noticed, while the maulvis and imams have been recognised for many years. These are all political stunts. Kejriwal probably thinks the people of Delhi are fools."

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Parvesh Verma (PTI)

Former Delhi MP Parvesh Verma wrote on X, "I have been saying for years that temple priests and granthis of all gurudwaras should be given salaries. But for the last 10 years, @ArvindKejriwal has been paying salaries to the maulvis and their associates of all the mosques in Delhi. Now as elections come, he is remembering priests and granthis. This is called a thug."

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Sandeep Dikshit (PTI)

Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit questions timing

Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit criticised the timing of the announcement. "Why wasn’t this implemented earlier? When a government approaches re-election, it usually announces new projects like roads, infrastructure, hospitals, schools, bridges, and power initiatives. Increasing salaries or allowances is standard practice. But why make such announcements just five days before elections? Why not two or three months earlier? This shows they have realised their political credibility is finished.”

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AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal with Delhi CM Atishi and Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj addresses a press conference, in New Delhi, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024.

Atishi and Saurabh Bhardwaj

Delhi’s chief minister Atishi and AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj defended the move.

Saurabh Bhardwaj emphasised the economic hardships faced by priests and granthis.

"The priests or granthis, who live in small rooms in gurdwaras, are living in extreme poverty, with entire families residing in cramped spaces. They do not even have enough money to sustain their livelihood. Some are getting only 3000 rupees, and despite such poverty, they manage to survive. It is the government's responsibility to extend financial assistance to them with respect and dignity."

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Mamata Banerjee (PTI)

Kejriwal does a Mamata?

Arvind Kejriwal’s recent announcement of the 'Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana' has drawn comparisons to the monthly honorarium to imams and muezzins that West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced in 2012.

Imams (Muslim clerics) receive a monthly remuneration of Rs 2,500 whereas muezzins (people who call others for Namaz) receive an amount of Rs 1,000 as monthly remuneration in Bengal.

On September 11, 2020, Mamata announced her government would be paying Hindu priests an honorarium of Rs 1,000 a month and building houses under Bengal's housing scheme for those who have no house of their own.

In August, 2023, Banerjee announced a hike of Rs 500 in the monthly allowance of Muslim clerics as well as Hindu priests during her speech at a conference of imams and muezzins in Kolkata’s Netaji Indoor stadium.

The 'Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana' stands out by offering a significantly higher monthly allowance compared to Mamata Banerjee's welfare scheme.

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