Dubbing AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal as ‘anti-Dalit’, Congress leader and former MP Udit Raj on Sunday claimed that while the ruling party announced a scheme to provide a monthly honorarium to temple priests and gurdwara granthis, it left out priests of Valmiki and Ravidas temples.
He said that on Monday, 'bhikshus' and priests of Valmiki and Ravidas temples will protest against the AAP to demand that they be covered under the party's proposed scheme. Raj posed eight questions to the AAP chief including not covering priests of Valmiki and Ravidas temples.
On December 30, Kejriwal announced that the AAP would give Rs 18,000 a month to temple priests and gurdwara granthis under the 'Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana' if it returns to power in Delhi after the upcoming assembly polls.
“He was silent on giving similar honorariums to Buddhist monks, priests at the Guru Ravi Das Mandir and Valmiki Mandir, who are all from the Dalit community, and priests from poor churches. There are 314 Budh Vihars, 150 Valmi Temples and an equal number of Ravi Das temples, and they were all related to the Dalits. Church officials should also be made such honorariums,†the Congress leader said.
He also asked why of the party's 11 Rajya Sabha MPs, not one is from the SC or OBC community. He added that Kejriwal misled the Dalits with his Ambedkar Scholarship Scheme, announced in 2020, but due to fund shortage, Dalit students were not sent abroad.
He also alleged that the AAP chief forced Dalit Minister in his Cabinet Rajender Pal Gautam to resign when he mooted a suggestion to implement the 22 pledges of Dr Ambedkar. Raj also questioned Kejriwal’s ilence on caste census.
