As the Delhi assembly elections draw near, Congress leader and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar announced the party's 'Pyari Didi Yojana' in the capital city on Monday. The scheme, launched “as per the Karnataka model,” aims to benefit the female faction of the capital city by allocating an amount worth Rs. 2500 each.
“I am confident that the Congress government will come to power in Delhi,” claimed Shivakumar, and stated the scheme will be implemented immediately in the first Cabinet meeting, if the party is voted to power in Delhi.
Recalling the event when “Mahatma Gandhi took over as the Congress president on 26 December, 1924, Shivakumar elaborated on the Gruha Jyoti Scheme launched by the Karnataka government. The 2024 Gruha Jyoti scheme is a flagship programme providing up to 200 units of free monthly electricity to households.
Gruha Laxmi Scheme, a Karnataka equivalent of the Pyari Didi Yojana introduced by the party, offers financial aid worth Rs. 2000 per month, to every woman in the state.
“About Rs. 556 thousand crores have been allotted in the budget,” Shivakumar remarked referring to the initiative, “and 1.22 crore women are receiving an amount of Rs. 2000 every month,” he continued.
The minister further pointed out that the scheme has proved beneficial to women of all sectors.
Many other initiatives by the Karnataka government were brought into the focus of discussion. Among these were the free rice distribution project called the Anna Bhagya Yojana, and the Yuva Nidhi scheme to grant monetary aid to the unemployed youth in Karnataka.
In the press briefing held at the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) office, New Delhi, president of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee Devender Yadav, criticised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for failing to uphold its promises.
“It’s been eleven years,” he said, “Delhi’s condition is moving from worse to dire”. He also added that AAP could not stand by its vows regarding the party’s education model and promises to provide free water and electricity and to eradicate corruption in Delhi.
Hinting at PM Modi’s former remark on the Karnataka government’s poor financial management, Shivakumar alleged that BJP, however, later mimicked their approach. “During the Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra elections, they started copying our guarantee schemes,” the deputy chief minister said.
While the term for current assembly ends in February 2025, polling dates for the Delhi Assembly elections are yet to be rolled out.
