AAP had limited Dalit upliftment to photos, showing grand dreams: BJP on Ambedkar legacy

Within hours of BJP leaders taking oath as ministers, the Aam Aadmi Party had alleged that they had removed Ambedkar’s portraits from their offices. AAP MLAs also protested in the Vidhan Sabha over the issue. BJP has denied the allegations.

On Monday, Sachdeva said, “The Kejriwal government limited Dalit upliftment to hoardings and photographs of Babasaheb, showing grand dreams of improvement in Dalit colonies between 2020 and 2024. However, while Rs. 260 crore was allocated in the budget during those four years, only Rs. 121 crore was spent… During its tenure, the Kejriwal government announced three schemes under Dr. Ambedkar’s name for Dalits, backward castes, minorities, and economically weaker sections — the Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Pratibha Vikas Yojana for the welfare of Scheduled Caste students and allocated Rs. 180 crore between 2020 and 2024. However, only Rs. 4.4 crore was spent on the scheme,” he said.

He added that the Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Pratibha Vikas Yojana was also launched with a budget allocation of Rs. 250 crore over four years. But only Rs 4.2 crore was spent. The third scheme, Mukhyamantri Vidyarthi Pratibha Yojana – with an allocation of Rs. 461 crore between 2020 and 2024 – saw an expenditure of only Rs 32.2 crore, he said.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, meanwhile, paid tributes to Ambedkar at several events across the city.

While inaugurating four public parks in Ambedkar Colony, she said, “Delhi government is fully committed to building a robust and modern infrastructure across the capital. We aim to provide every citizen with better facilities and a safe, accessible environment,” she said.