Delhi HC to hear plea challenging AAP govt's free pilgrimage scheme next year

The Delhi High Court on Monday said that it will hear on January 24, 2020, a petition challenging the national capital government's free pilgrimage scheme.

The petition filed by BJP's legal cell convenor Rajesh Kumar challenged the policy and guidelines for the chief minister's free pilgrimage scheme.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had last year launched the 'Mukhyamantri Teerth Yatra Yojana' under which senior citizens from each of the assembly constituencies can undertake a free pilgrimage.

Petitioner Kumar disputed the "arbitrary collection and scrutiny of applications by Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) agent, mandatory requirements of voter ID and certificate from a local legislator" to go for the pilgrimage.

He had moved the court seeking a direction to quash the policy guidelines and direct the government to frame "non-discriminatory guidelines" for the scheme. Kumar claimed that the guidelines have been made only to further the agenda on the public fund.

The conditions provide "full control" to the ruling political party to select beneficiaries according to their own wish without any transparency, he claimed in the petition. "The same is violating Article 14 of the constitution which provides for the equitable and non-discriminatory distribution of state largesse.