ALTHOUGH Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde are strongly favouring the continuation of the Mahayuti government’s flagship ‘Mukhymantri Ladki Bahin Yojana’, the scheme finds itself on a sticky wicket. The Opposition has once again raised the decibel level, seeking cancellation of the scheme which is largely credited with bringing the Mahayuti government to power once again in Maharashtra in 2024.
First it was Shinde who made it clear that the government will not stop the scheme. Speaking in Ahilyanagar last week, he said, “The Ladki Bahin Yojana will not be stopped come what may. The scheme is intended to make women independent and self-sufficient.”
And on Tuesday before the weekly cabinet meeting in Mumbai, the chief minister backed his deputy. “We will never close down the Ladki Bahin Yojana. It is one of the largest welfare schemes of its kind being implemented by any state in the country,” he said.
Fadnavis said when the scheme was launched, the government had allowed women to self-certify their eligibility as many did not have the required documents. “And subsequently when we carried out verification, we found several men had taken benefit of it. Besides, women from families of government employees too had become beneficiaries, which was not allowed,” he said.
The Opposition has been describing it as the biggest fraud committed on the electorate of Maharashtra by the ruling parties. The latest trigger for the Opposition’s onslaught relates to dropping of over 80 lakh women beneficiaries from the scheme. The names of women beneficiaries were omitted after the April 30 deadline for e-KYC (Know Your Customer).
“The government had provided an eight-month window for women beneficiaries to complete the e-KYC process, which would help them continue getting Rs 1,500 financial assistance. Many failed to do so,” the chief minister said of the move to weed out names of ineligible beneficiaries.
When the scheme was launched, it had 2.4 crore beneficiaries. Now the number has dropped to 1.7 crore.
The Opposition believes that the latest move of the government to drop 80 lakh names indicates that the scheme is heading for a closure. “In the Ladki Bahin scheme, which had 2.47 crore beneficiaries before the elections, this government has deleted the names of 81 lakh ‘beloved sisters’. KYC is merely an excuse; the real target is to shut down the scheme by deleting the names of these beneficiaries in phases,” said NCP-SP MLA Rohit Pawar.
The MLA asked, “If the government implemented this scheme right before the elections without any KYC, and is now labeling these ‘beloved sisters’ as bogus beneficiaries, is this not a case of the government committing fraud by cheating these sisters? If the government harasses these sisters in any way or talks about recovering the money, it will cost them dearly. Therefore, if the government truly wants to recover these Rs 15,000 crore, they should recover it from ministers and officials.”
The Shiv Sena (UBT) said the scheme was a ruse to win votes. “The Ladki Bahin Yojana was not aimed at empowering women. From the way the government is removing their names as beneficiaries, it is clear that it wanted to win the elections. They distributed Rs 17,000 crore to just win the elections. It won the elections, its objective was achieved and now it is trying to slowly get rid of the women beneficiaries,” said Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut.
Raut claimed money was distributed to ineligible voters. “And therefore, we are urging the Election Commission to cancel the election as the Mahayuti won it through corrupt practices.”
The AAP has called it the biggest scam in Maharashtra. “The Ladki Bahin scheme must be the biggest pre-election scam in the history of Maharashtra. The main issue is not the recovery of money but action against the minister and the administration who committed the scam,” said AAP spokesperson Mukund Kirdat.
The scheme was launched in June 2024 just a three months before the Maharashtra Assembly elections in 2024. In the Economic Survey report tabled in the state Assembly, it was revealed that in the first seven months of the scheme, the government had disbursed Rs 17,000 crore to the women beneficiaries.
The AAP said the government must now clarify what is the total amount given to ineligible persons in under the scheme during the last 18 months.
Baramati MP Supriya Sule said, “Every sister in Maharashtra must regularly receive the benefits of the scheme under any circumstances. The condition to complete e-KYC within a specific deadline should not be unfair to women. The government must honestly fulfill its responsibility to ensure that not a single eligible woman in the state is deprived of this scheme due to technical reasons.”
Maharashtra Congress said Minister Aditi Tatkare should resign and cases filed against officials who allowed the fraud to take place. “The government machinery, the Ministry of Women and Child Development, and the Finance Ministry have now determined that 81 lakh women beneficiares are ineligible under the yojana. Why did the IAS officers, secretaries, and administrative staff in the relevant departments not notice this before approving and distributing the funds? Criminal cases should be filed against the concerned secretaries and officers,” said Congress spokesperson Gopal Tiwari.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare said, “I want to know from Tatkare as to why these women were disqualified ? Tatkare is always at the forefront when it comes to taking credit, but why wasn’t due diligence performed beforehand? Was this only for elections? The government adopted a ‘use and throw’ attitude treating beneficiaries as paid voters.”
Fadnavis said when the scheme was launched, the government had allowed women to self-certify their eligibility as many did not have the required documents. 
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