Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana: Kejriwal registers 'Marghat Wale Baba' priest

AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday launched the Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana, registering the priest of Marghat Wale Baba temple near Kashmiri Gate ISBT here.

Under the scheme announced ahead of the assembly polls in February, Kejriwal said all the Hindu temple priests and granthis of Gurudwaras will be paid a monthly honorarium of Rs 18,000 if the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) returns to power in Delhi.

"Today I visited Marghat Baba's temple (ISBT) and launched the Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana. Today is the birthday of the Mahant ji here. I also celebrated his birthday with him," he said in a post on X.

The former Delhi chief minister alleged that the BJP tried its best to stop the registration process for the scheme but no one can stop a devotee from meeting the god.

Announcing the scheme earlier on Monday, Kejriwal said that he would visit Prachin Hanuman Mandir at Connaught Place to do the registration of the priests there.

As the politics over the honorarium gathered momentum in Delhi, a group of priests staged a protest against Kejriwal outside the Connaught Place temple for announcing the honorarium after a delay of 10 years.

The AAP chief was accompanied by his wife Sunita Kejriwal during the visit to Marghat Wale Baba temple.

A group of priests staged a protest outside the Pracheen Hanuman Mandir in Connaught Place on Tuesday and demanded that former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should clarify why no financial support was provided under the government schemes in the last 10 years.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Vijay Goel lashed out at Kejriwal over his declaration of Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana and told PTI Videos that all these announcements are mere election promises.

"Why Arvind Kejriwal is not contesting the elections on poor drinking water, pollution in Delhi, corruption, water, electricity problem and bad roads conditions?" he asked.