NEW DELHI: Months ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls, former Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Monday announced the addition of 80,000 more people to the state’s pension system. Kejriwal said an additional 80,000 people are now eligible for old-age pension in Delhi, raising the total number of such beneficiaries to 5.3 lakh.

“Today I am very happy that pension is being restarted for about 5.5 lakh elderly people of Delhi. More than 10 thousand applications have been received within 24 hours of the launch of the portal. They conspired and committed the sin of stopping the pension of the elderly. But now your son has come, he will get all your work done,” said Kejriwal adding that in the BJP rule, old age pensioners used to get just Rs 500-Rs 1000 as pension.

Kejriwal further claimed that Delhi offers the highest pension rates in the country, with Rs 2,000 provided to individuals aged 60-69 and Rs 2,500 for those aged 70 and above. 

The Delhi government introduced a portal on Sunday to facilitate pension applications for the elderly, with 10,000 applications already submitted, according to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Speaking at a press conference, Kejriwal emphasized the government’s dedication to social welfare and announced that the expansion of the old-age pension scheme is now underway after receiving Cabinet approval.

“It is a sin to stop the pensions of old people,” Kejriwal said, accusing the BJP of halting pensions during his imprisonment. Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj were also present at the press conference.

Atishi reaffirmed the government’s dedication to serving the people, while Bharadwaj announced plans to extend Rs 5,000 monthly pension to differently-abled individuals. (With PTI inputs)