Mumbai: With several legislators raising questions and making comments about the Mahayuti government’s flagship Ladki Bahin scheme during the ongoing Winter Session of the Maharashtra Assembly, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Tuesday appeared visibly irked and appealed to MLAs not to link the scheme to every question.
Among those who drew his ire was his aide, BJP MLA Abhimanyu Pawar, a former personal assistant to Fadnavis who now represents the Ausa constituency in Latur district.
“You don’t need to drag Ladki Bahin scheme into everything,” Fadnavis reprimanded Pawar in the assembly. “Don’t go against the Ladki Bahin. You will have to sit at home. That scheme will go on, eligible women will get their money. You don’t compare it with any other scheme,” the CM said.
Pawar, a two-term MLA, referred to the scheme and made a passing comment while raising a question regarding alleged illegal liquor distribution.
“This is an issue for every rural MLA, not just me. Our sisters keep asking us. We mention Ladki Bahin when they raise grievances, many of which relate to illegal liquor,” MLA Pawar said, adding that he had raised the issue as a Calling Attention Motion in the previous assembly session as well.
Separately, Congress MLA Jyoti Gaikwad also raised the government’s and Fadnavis’s commitment to the scheme while speaking about women’s safety in the assembly.
Fadnavis said, “It is not right to link everything to the scheme. It is true that the security of our sisters is important, but that doesn’t mean the Ladki Bahin yojana is flawed, that don’t give that, but give this, don’t make such comparisons between the two things. Around 2.5 crore women in the state have accepted the scheme, it is important for them and we will continue it. And we will also do as much as possible for women’s safety.”
The scheme, officially ‘Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana’, was introduced by the first Mahayuti government in July last year ahead of the assembly elections. Under the scheme, every eligible woman, aged between 21–65 years with an annual income of less than Rs. 2.5 lakh, will receive a monthly financial aid of Rs 1,500. In its manifesto, the Mahayuti parties—BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)—had promised to raise the amount to Rs 2,500 per month if they are elected back to power. However, the second Mahayuti government under Fadnavis is yet to raise the amount.
The scheme has been a political flashpoint, with all the three Mahayuti parties initially trying to take credit for it, followed by voices of scepticism from members of all parties regarding the financial strain it is putting on the state’s budget. Meanwhile, the Opposition parties have been targeting the government for being unable to increase the payout under the scheme yet as promised.
(Edited by Shashank Kishan)
Also Read: India’s opposition produces more drama within their own ranks than against BJP