Put Rs 10,000 in every Jan Dhan accounts, Kejriwal challenges BJP

New Delhi: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Monday asked the BJP to deposit Rs 10,000 in the Jan Dhan accounts or waive off loans given to the farmers, from the money being deposited in the banks after the Centre’s demonetisation move.

On Sunday, The Asian Age had published a story stating the government is considering depositing Rs 10,000 in the Jan Dhan accounts. The BJP had tweeted that more than Rs 5 lakh crore have been deposited in banks in just 10 days. “Don’t loan this to big corporates now. Either waive off all farmers’ loans or deposit Rs 10,000 in each Jan Dhan account,” Mr Kejriwal said in reply to the BJP tweet.

The Asian Age had reported the government is considering putting in Rs 10,000 in the Jan Dhan accounts, particularly those with zero balance. There are nearly 25 crore Jan Dhan accounts in the country, of which nearly 5.8 crore are zero balance accounts. Analysts reports have estimated that the government’s demonetisation scheme will result in windfall of Rs 3 lakh crore to the RBI, which will pass it on to the government.

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was launched by Prime minister Narendra Modi in 2014. The main purpose of this scheme was to bring poor unbanked under the net of formal banking. It’s mostly artisans, workers, labourers, factory workers, housewives,  poor and people living below poverty lines who are targeted under the scheme. Under the scheme every households will have at least a basic banking account with a RuPay debit card.