Ajit Pawar stands by ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme, says no objection by finance department
Mumbai: Maharashtra deputy chief minister and state finance minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday denied that his department had red flagged the ‘CM majhi ladki bahin’ (CM my beloved sister) scheme. Under the scheme, the state government has announced monthly Rs 1,500 cash assistance to women. Ajit Pawar alleged that deliberate attempts are being made to create confusion among the people.
Maharashtra is expected to go to the assembly polls in October this year. The BJP-led alliance had lost 31 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state. However, the Eknath Shinde government in the state is confident that the ‘CM majhi ladki bahin’ scheme will prove a game changer in the Assembly polls. Under the scheme, the government will transfer Rs 1,500 per month into the bank accounts of women, whose annual family income is less than Rs 2.50 lakh.
Denying that the finance department opposed the scheme, Ajit Pawar said that the state like Maharashtra can easily bear the expenditure. “In the current financial year, the entire amount of Rs 35,000 crores required for the scheme has been provisioned in this year’s budget. Thus, the question of where the money will come from for this scheme does not arise,” she said.
Asserting that the scheme was introduced after approval of all concerned departments including the finance and planning, Mr. Pawar said, “There is no reason for anyone in this state to oppose the scheme. Reports of the finance department's opposition to the scheme, which have been published in some media outlets, are fanciful, inconsistent with facts, and politically motivated.”
However, his uncle Sharad Pawar alleged that the scheme was launched keeping an eye on the upcoming state assembly elections and the state government does not have the funds to spend on the scheme for long. “There is no money in the State treasury. One or two installments will be given prior to the elections, but who will pay the next installment?” Sharad Pawar said.