Will raise old-age pensions to Rs 5,000 if elected: Delhi Congress

The Delhi Congress on Sunday announced that it will raise old-age and other welfare pensions to Rs 5,000 if elected in the upcoming assembly polls. Addressing 'Halla Bol' rallies in Model Town and Rajouri Garden areas, Delhi Congress president Subhash Chopra said the party's promise will also figure in its election manifesto.

"If Congress comes to power in Delhi, pension for old people, widows and handicapped will be raised to Rs 5,000 per month," he said.

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Chopra alleged that despite provisions in the Budget, 1,45,416 people were not given their monthly pensions. On Saturday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated a four-storey old-age home in Wazirpur, asserting it is only the AAP government which honours the elderly.

"In a petition, the AAP government had admitted in the Delhi High Court that it could not meet its projected targets. This proves quite clearly that the Kejriwal government was surviving only on the strength of advertisements by misleading the people instead of fulfilling its promises at the ground level," Chopra alleged.

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No immediate reaction was available from the ruling Aam Aadmi Party on Chopra's claims. The Delhi Congress chief also alleged that the Ladli Yojana, started by the Sheila Dikshit government, seemed to have been wound up by the current regime. "Ladli Yojna will be revived, by expanding its scope and reach, so as to benefit Delhi students as well," he said.

Delhi Congress chief spokesperson Mukesh Sharma said the party will come up with more aggressive campaigns against the BJP and the AAP in the coming days. Meetings and rallies in all the 70 assembly constituencies in Delhi will be held in the coming days to "expose the double-talk, lies and failures" of the BJP and the AAP, he said.

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