Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has criticized opposition parties in Maharashtra, calling them “half-brothers of women.” He claimed that their criticism of the Ladki Bahin Yojana reflects their fear of the scheme’s success.
Fadnavis argued that the opposition’s objections—ranging from challenging the scheme in court and losing, to alleging insufficient funding—are attempts to discredit the program. He accused them of hypocrisy, stating that while they attack the scheme publicly, they simultaneously use it to promote their own images with posters.
The state government has launched the My Beloved Sister Scheme, which provides poor women with a monthly deposit of 1,500 rupees into their bank accounts. This initiative was initially introduced by Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.
The BJP government leveraged the Ladli Behan Yojana to secure a decisive victory in the assembly elections there by winning the most seats.
The opposition parties are persistently making new allegations against the scheme. They argue that it is merely an electoral ploy and will be discontinued after the elections. They also claim there are insufficient funds in the state treasury for the program and have criticized the slow pace of registering women’s names.
The state government, however, has stated that the first installment of the scheme will be deposited into women’s accounts on August 17. They have described the scheme as a Raksha Bandhan gift for the poor women in the state.
