The BJP rushed to defend former MP Parvesh Verma after Delhi Chief Minister Atishi alleged that he was caught red-handed distributing cash to women in AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal's New Delhi constituency ahead of Assembly polls in the city.
Just after Atishi raised the alarm that Verma was giving Rs 1,100 each to women from slum clusters at Verma's residence at Windsor Place after noting down their Voter ID details, the BJP claimed he was helping those poor women financially.
Atishi, lashing out at Verma, also called on the Delhi Police, CBI and ED to conduct raids at Verma's bungalow "where crores of rupees were kept." The Chief Minister said AAP will file formal complaints to the police and the election commission seeking Verma's arrest. Kejriwal has also alleged that cash was being distributed to people in his constituency.
#WATCH | Delhi: BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa says, "... Arvind Kejriwal is doing a drama of giving 2100 rupees...He was the Chief Minister of Delhi for 12 years but till now he has not been able to strengthen the women financially. They are forced to live in slums... Parvesh… pic.twitter.com/aNqRnSTJ0o
— ANI (@ANI) December 25, 2024
"Arvind Kejriwal is doing a drama of giving Rs 2,100. He was the Chief Minister of Delhi for 12 years but still hasn't done anything to empower the women financially. They continue to live in slums. Parvesh Verma is helping those women financially," BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa told ANI.
#WATCH | Delhi: On the allegations of Delhi CM Atishi, BJP leader Parvesh Verma says "Yesterday, I saw the tweet of Arvind Kejriwal and today I heard the press conference of the temporary CM of Delhi. AAP MP Sanjay Singh is also roaming around my house. Rashtriya Swabhiman… https://t.co/1M5GKHng51 pic.twitter.com/neZBsKY4Bi
— ANI (@ANI) December 25, 2024
Verma took a dig at Kejriwal, stating he wasn't "distributing alcohol like Kejriwal used to". He said he had been helping people through the trust Rashtriya Swabhiman Sansthan, which his father built 25 years ago.
"We have been helping people and have redeveloped two villages devastated by an earthquake in Gujarat and four villages in Odisha destroyed by a cyclone," Verma told reporters.
He mocked Atishi and Kejriwal for "appreciating the work we were doing" and said he had been witnessing the misery of women here which "Kejriwal couldn't see for the last 11 years."
"When I met them, they told me they neither have pensions nor ration cards, jobs, or access to medical facilities. I decided that my organisation would create a scheme to help them every month," he said. "I am happy about one thing: at least I am not distributing liquor, which the Chief Minister of Delhi (Arvind Kejriwal) was distributing all over Delhi," he added.
