New Delhi, Mar 20 (PTI) Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva on Thursday said the financial aid under the Mahila Samriddhi Yojna will be provided to women in the national capital after the budget is passed in the assembly.

Sachdeva, who was responding to AAP's criticism over alleged delay in the scheme's implementation, said it was the Aam Aadmi Party that "misled" women in Delhi and Punjab by failing to deliver on the monthly allowance.

"(Arvind) Kejriwal is well aware that the BJP government will ensure proper provisions in the 2025-26 budget to implement the Mahila Samriddhi Yojana. Once this happens, it will become impossible for him to mislead the women of Punjab any further," he said.

The Aam Aadmi Party has been targeting the new BJP government over the implementation of the scheme since the latter formed the government in Delhi last month.

The Delhi government will table its maiden budget on March 25 during the assembly's five-day budget session.

Addressing a press conference earlier in the day, AAP leader Atishi sought to know when will women in Delhi receive the Rs 2,500 monthly financial assistance under the Mahila Samriddhi Yojna as promised by the ruling BJP.

Atishi, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, wondered if the BJP government will provide Rs 2,500 to nearly 48 lakh women in the capital aged above 18 years, or restrict the benefit to less than 1 per cent of the figure by putting in various riders.

Claiming that the BJP government formed a committee 12 days ago, which is yet to do anything, the former Delhi chief minister asked when will registration for the scheme begin and money be credited to the accounts of the beneficiary women.

The BJP government has approved Rs 5,100 crore for providing Rs 2,500 monthly assistance to women from poor families in Delhi.

A committee of ministers headed by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has been formed to oversee the implementation of the scheme, which was a key election promise of the saffron party ahead of the February 5 Delhi polls.

Atishi said the BJP was using delaying tactics instead of fulfilling its promise.

“The only task the BJP government in Delhi seems to have is to abuse Arvind Kejriwal and AAP from morning to night. They had ample time for this in the last Assembly session, where instead of presenting a vision, action plan, or timeline for the people of Delhi, they spent the entire session targeting Arvind Kejriwal and AAP.” Responding to her remarks, Sachdeva charged, "To avoid accountability for the Mahila Samman allowance in Punjab, Kejriwal is getting controversial statements issued through Atishi." Sachdeva said that while presenting Delhi's budget for 2024-25 when the AAP was in power, Atishi announced a monthly allowance of Rs 1,000 per woman. However, not even "a single rupee" was given to them, leading to their massive defeat in the recently concluded assembly elections, he said.

In 2021-22 (during the poll campaign for assembly polls in Punjab), to grab power, Kejriwal lured Punjab’s women with the promise of an allowance but they are now completely disillusioned, he claimed.

The BJP ended the AAP's ten-year rule in Delhi while top AAP leaders, including Kejriwal, lost the elections. PTI VIT VIT SKY SKY

Mahila Samriddhi Yojana to be implemented after budget; funding allocation and eligibility, opposition queries timeline for roll out. Implementation of the Mahila Samriddhi Yojana will follow passage of the assembly budget, with a stated budgetary allocation and a ministerial committee led by the Chief Minister to oversee implementation, registration, and disbursement of the announced monthly financial assistance to eligible women; the opposition contests the timeline, scope of coverage, and start of registrations and credits.