BJP asks tough questions after AAP's Rs 101 cr to Waqf Board report

New Delhi, Oct 29: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday accused the AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal of playing politics of appeasement after an RTI report revealed that the Delhi government granted over Rs 101 crore of public funds to the Waqf board.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur attacked the AAP government in Delhi, saying, AAP government has money to Muslim clerics and not Hindu temple priests.

"You (Delhi CM) give Rs 18,000 per annum to Muslim clerics in Delhi. Will you also give the same Rs 18,000 to priests, gurdwara granthis, and pastors? Why couldn't you do it," Thakur questioned.

Anurag Thakur also alleged that those opposing the temple are becoming Hindus now.

"Those who opposed Ram Mandir, insulted Hindu deities had to sack a minister, that Arvind Kejriwal is a symbol of anarchy. He stokes new propaganda so that his corruption is not discussed," he said.

A fresh row erupted after an RTI response revealed that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's AAP government has given over Rs 101 crore of public funds to the Delhi Waqf board since coming to power in 2015 and Rs 62.57 crore alone was given in 2021.

In his first year in office (2015-16), Kejriwal government granted Rs. 1.25 crores to the Waqf Board, but the numbers kept increasing year after year, the RTI response received by activist Ajay Bose reveals. In 2016-17, it was Rs 1.37 crore, Rs 5 crore in 2017-18 and Rs 8.85 crore in 2018-19, according to a news report published in OpIndia citing the RTI response.

From Rs 1.25 crore in 2015, it went to Rs 22.72 crore by 2019-20. However, no grants were given in 2020-21. However, the Delhi government gave Rs 62.57 crore a year (2021) after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world.

In total, the AAP government has given Rs 101.76 crore in the last seven years, the RTI response claimed. A photo detailing the grants is doing rounds on social media.