Delhi, a significant confrontation unfolded within the assembly walls on February 24, 2025. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Leader of the Opposition, Atishi, confronted newly appointed Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, urging the fulfillment of a pivotal electoral promise: the disbursement of ₹2,500 monthly to every woman in the capital.
This promise traces back to January 31, 2025, during an election rally in Dwarka, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured Delhi’s women that upon the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) forming the government, the inaugural cabinet meeting would sanction this financial assistance. He emphasized, “This is Modi’s guarantee.” The BJP’s manifesto aimed to surpass the AAP’s proposal of ₹2,100 monthly support for women, positioning their commitment as a cornerstone of their campaign.
Following the BJP’s decisive victory on February 5, clinching 48 out of 70 seats and ending a decade-long AAP governance, expectations soared. Rekha Gupta, a former Delhi University Students’ Union president and municipal councilor, was elected as the leader of the BJP legislature party on February 19 and subsequently sworn in as Delhi’s fourth woman Chief Minister on February 20.
However, the inaugural cabinet meeting did not address the promised financial aid. This omission prompted Atishi to seek an audience with CM Gupta. After two days without a response, Atishi, accompanied by fellow AAP legislators, approached the Chief Minister directly on the assembly floor. She articulated the urgency of the matter, stating, “We had asked for time from the chief minister for the last two days, but we did not get time. Today, during the session, we met Chief Minister Rekha Gupta ji and reminded her that the promise made in the first cabinet and the guarantee given by Modi ji has been broken. That assurance has proven to be false. We hope that on March 8, the first installment of ₹2,500 under the Mahila Samman Yojana will be credited into the accounts of every woman in Delhi.”
In response, Chief Minister Gupta acknowledged the commitment but highlighted fiscal challenges inherited from the previous administration. She remarked, “The condition which the (previous) government has left for us… when we sat with officers to review the financial status of the current government, we found that the government exchequer was empty.” Despite these constraints, Gupta assured that the scheme would be implemented after detailed planning, aiming for the first disbursement by March 8, International Women’s Day.
Atishi refuted the Chief Minister’s claims, asserting that the AAP had handed over a financially robust government. She criticized the BJP for making excuses to evade their guarantees, stating, “I had expected that from the moment the BJP government was formed, it would start making excuses to avoid fulfilling its so-called guarantees and promises.”
The political discourse intensified as both parties stood firm. The BJP, now occupying the right side of the Speaker’s chair, faced a resolute opposition on the left. The assembly session commenced with the swearing-in of MLAs, overseen by pro-tem Speaker Arvinder Singh Lovely, and witnessed by Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva from the Speaker’s gallery.
As March 8 approaches, the women of Delhi keenly await the fulfillment of the promised financial aid. The unfolding events in the assembly underscore the complexities of governance, fiscal responsibility, and the imperative of honoring electoral commitments.
