New Delhi, Jan 21 (IANS): Former MP and Dalit leader of the Congress, Udit Raj, has dismissed the BJP's promises of free education from KG to PG for underprivileged students, a Rs 1,000 monthly stipend for SC students, and one-time assistance for UPSC and competitive exam aspirants as mere 'jumla' and "nothing more than an election slogan."
Speaking to IANS, Udit Raj criticised the Central government's approach to education, stating, "On one hand, the cost of education is rising, and on the other, you offer just one thousand rupees. This is just an election slogan. If you don't follow through, that’s another matter, but the backward and poor communities have been increasingly excluded from education. Since the Modi government took power, education has been privatised, and it has become unaffordable."
Raj further reacted to former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s promise to create a welfare board for the Dhobi community in the national Capital if the AAP wins the upcoming Assembly elections.
"Why now? Why wasn’t this done earlier?" the Congress leader questioned and added, "They had promised to provide concrete houses to the Balmiki community, but now they say they will give fifty thousand houses, even though many are already vacant. Why weren’t these given over the last eleven years? This is just another election stunt. They had promised to build 500 schools and open 20 colleges, but not a single school or college has been built. Similarly, this too will remain unfulfilled."
In response to remarks made by AAP leader Rituraj Jha, who criticised Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri over alleged connections to Bangladeshi and Rohingya communities, Udit Raj accused the AAP of attempting to create division.
"They are trying to pit Hindus against Muslims to distract the public from the main issues. It’s a war of words, and they want to keep people divided," Raj said.
Earlier in the day, the BJP released Part II of its Sankalp Patra, announcing another set of poll promises if the party is voted to power in the upcoming Assembly elections.
The big poll sops include free education from KG to PG for underprivileged students in government schools, a Rs 1,000 monthly stipend for SC students, and one-time assistance for UPSC and competitive exam aspirants
The announcements were made by former Union Minister Anurag Thakur during a press conference, during which he highlighted the Central government's schemes for street vendors and unveiled the second part of the Sankalp Patra, loaded with sops and bonanza for students.
He also accused the AAP government of failures on multiple fronts and claimed that the party rose to power by befooling the people of Delhi and after grabbing power, it left them in the lurch.