Ahead Of Delhi Polls, Arvind Kejriwal Says 80,000 Beneficiaries To Be Added To Old-Age Pensione

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said the Delhi government is in the process of extending the old-age pension scheme to 80,000 more beneficiaries to cover a total of 5.30 lakh senior citizens. He said the Delhi government had reopened the portal a day earlier and had received 10,000 fresh applications so far. “Why do you need a double-engine government when a single-engine can do much better,” he said.

Addressing a press conference, Mr. Kejriwal alleged that following his arrest, in March this year, many Delhi government projects “were stalled, including the pension scheme, which was especially painful to me”. Sharing details of the programme, the former CM said beneficiaries aged 60-69 will receive ₹2,000 monthly while those aged 70 and above will receive ₹2,500 like earlier. However, an additional ₹500 will be given to beneficiaries from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and minority communities.

In response, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said if his party wins the Assembly election in February next year, it will provide old-age pensions to “100% of the senior citizens”. He said nearly 10 lakh senior citizens in the city need the financial assistance and claimed that the scope of the existing scheme had been expanded due to “BJP’s efforts and political pressure”.