New Delhi, Dec 30 (PTI) AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal announced on Monday a monthly honorarium of Rs 18,000 for Hindu temple priests and Gurudwara granthis in the city after his party returns to power in Delhi, evoking sharp reactions from opposition BJP and the Congress.

Kejriwal, at a press conference, said the registration process for the scheme will start at the Prachin Hanuman Mandir at Connaught Place in his presence.

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The BJP dubbed the announcement a "political stunt", while the Congress termed it a "trickery" by Kejriwal, saying Imams of mosques in the city were protesting outside his residence, demanding payment of their salaries allegedly pending for 17 months.

"Pujaris and granthis are an important part of our society, but they are often a neglected section. For the first time in the country, we are introducing a scheme to support them, under which they will receive a monthly allowance of Rs 18,000," Kejriwal said, adding, registration for the scheme will start on Tuesday.

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He, however, did not elaborate on the guidelines for registration and the eligibility criteria for it. There are no official numbers of registered temple priests and Gurudwara granthis in Delhi.

"Their numbers will be known after the registration process is complete," Kejriwal said when asked about the number of potential beneficiaries of the scheme and asserted that there will be no lack of funds for it.

Kejriwal sought to outplay the BJP, saying the party should not try to hamper the scheme as it will be "sinful".

"Just like the BJP tried to stop the Mahila Samman Yojana by sending police but couldn't, similarly they shouldn't try to stop the 'Pujari-Granthi Samman' scheme. The BJP will incur a great sin by doing this.

"This scheme is a tribute to their spiritual contribution to the society and their efforts to preserve our cultural heritage," he added in a social media post made after the announcement.

Several priests and granthis visited Kejriwal at his residence to bless him following the announcement, AAP said in a statement.

Meanwhile, several Imams and Muazzins of the Waqf Board registered mosques protested near Kejriwal's residence, demanding their salaries allegedly pending for the last 17 months. The AAP government pays monthly Rs 18,000 to Imams and Rs 16,000 to Muazzins of mosques registered with the Delhi Waqf Board.

The protest by Imams outside the residence of Kejriwal, who has announced Rs 18,000 for temple priests and granthis of Gurudwaras, exposes his "tirckery", charged Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav.

"Kejriwal is making desperate attempts to shine his tainted image and regain his lost ground by announcing various freebies to influence the voters with an eye on the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections," he alleged.

The BJP called Kejriwal's 'Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana' a "political stunt", claiming no one will get anything because there was no data of such priests.

Delhi BJP chief Veerendra Sachdeva said that Kejriwal is now a "defeated and desperate" leader who is making populist announcements daily to stay in power.

Former Delhi MP Parvesh Verma claimed that Kejriwal is remembering 'ishwar' and 'waheguru' due to the fear of loss. But he did not remember them for the last 10 years, Verma alleged, adding he only used to remember 'maulvis' of the mosque, and used to see only one religion and one vote bank.

For the last 10 years, he used to pay salaries to 'maulvis' and their assistants every month with the tax money of the people of Delhi, Verma said. Till date, he has given around Rs 100 crore to clerics of mosques and their associates, he claimed.

Since elections are about to be announced, they have remembered priests of temples and gurudwaras, Verma said.

Delhi Chief Minister Atishi lauded the scheme announced by Kejriwal as a step to honour the priests and granthis, who have been preserving and carrying forward the culture and civilisation for generations. PTI SJJ NIT VIT

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)