New Delhi: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday turned down Arvind Kejriwal's offer to 'help' implement the ‘Mukhyamantri Teerth Yatra’ scheme, suggesting that his Delhi counterpart should focus on protecting people from the worsening air quality in the national capital.
Khattar asserted that Haryana is fully capable of implementing welfare schemes and said that the state would be "happy to help" Kejriwal if he faces any problems in governing Delhi, reported news agency PTI.
In a post on social media platform X, the Haryana chief minister said, "Our dashing Haryana is fully capable of implementing every scheme." "Protect the citizens by taking responsibility for pollution in Delhi. In this time of crisis, leaving Delhi and travelling to other states to campaign for elections is a sign of your irresponsibility," Khattar told Kejriwal.
He made the remarks after Kejriwal on Sunday took a dig at the BJP-led government in Haryana, which had just launched the 'Mukhyamantri Teerth Yatra' scheme for the elderly, saying that the BJP is trying to work for the people by learning from his government.
In a post on X, Kejriwal also extended help to Khattar in implementing the scheme.
"If you face any problem in running the governance of Delhi then please ask, we will be very happy to help you," Khattar further said.
Pollution levels in Delhi-NCR on Monday morning were recorded around seven to eight times above the government-prescribed safe limit, as a toxic haze persisted over the region for the seventh consecutive day, reported PTI.
Kejriwal launched the Mukhyamantri Teerth Yatra Yojana on July 12, 2019. Under the scheme, the Delhi government offers free travel packages for pilgrimage to senior citizens from the national capital, according to PTI.
"In the entire country, the Mukhyamantri Teerth Yatra Yojana has been running only in Delhi till now. For the first time, the Aam Aadmi Party government ran such a scheme in Delhi. Under this scheme, we have facilitated pilgrimage for more than 75,000 elderly people of Delhi. We are happy that BJP is trying to work by learning from our government," Kejriwal had said in Hindi, tagging a recent post by Khattar.
"Khattar Sahib, if there is any problem in its implementation then please ask, we will be very happy to help the people of Haryana," he added.
Khattar in a post in Hindi said, "The state government will provide free railway travel to pilgrimage places like Ayodhya, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Mathura, Amritsar, Patna Sahib. For this we have created 'Mukhyamantri Teerth Yatra Yojana' for people above 60 years of age, definitely, you should take advantage of this scheme."