Ladki Bahin scheme: Congress says Maharashtra govt cheated women, removed 38 pc after polls

Mumbai, Jul 14 (PTI) The Congress on Tuesday accused the BJP-led Mahayuti government in Maharashtra of cheating women by removing nearly 38 per cent of beneficiaries of the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana after the 2024 assembly elections. Speaking at a press conference in Delhi, Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe Patil alleged that the state government excluded around 62 lakh women citing non-completion of e-KYC and another 1.8 lakh women on the ground that they were above 65. Why the government had collected their Aadhaar details at the time of application if they were later found to be ineligible on age grounds, he sought to know. Making e-KYC mandatory unfairly affected poor women, many of whom did not own smartphones, while the captcha-based verification process was too complicated for illiterate beneficiaries, the Congress leader said. He also claimed the government was going to remove more beneficiaries and nearly 38 per cent of women enrolled under the scheme had been excluded. The Congress leader alleged that the scheme was introduced in haste ahead of the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections for electoral gains, and the promised increase in the monthly assistance from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100 was not implemented after the polls. Citing a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), Londhe alleged that the government spent Rs 33,237 crore against the approved allocation of Rs 29,732 crore and failed to explain the additional expenditure of about Rs 3,500 crore. He demanded that the state government complete the e-KYC process for all eligible women through the administration, restore benefits to those excluded on that ground, and release their pending instalments. The Congress also sought an independent inquiry into the implementation of the scheme, alleging irregularities, inclusion of ineligible beneficiaries, inclusion of men and government employees, and misuse of public funds. Meanwhile in Mumbai, Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Nirupam rejected allegations of irregularities in the scheme. He said the beneficiaries who were found ineligible after the e-KYC verification process had received the monthly assistance of Rs 1,500 for the past ten months and their eligibility was reviewed strictly as per the scheme's rules. Nirupam said around 29,000 men had wrongly received benefits under the scheme, but Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has assured the state assembly that the amount paid to them would be recovered. The Shiv Sena leader demanded that the government extend the deadline for completion of the e-KYC process. Alleging that the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) were opposed to women's empowerment, Nirupam said the Centre and the Mahayuti government had consistently implemented welfare schemes for women. He also said Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Eknath Shinde had assured that the Ladki Bahin scheme would continue and appealed to beneficiaries not to worry, asserting that no eligible woman would be deprived of assistance under the scheme. PTI MR KRK