Opposition questions exclusion of 80 lakh women from Ladki Bahin scheme

Opposition leaders Jayant Patil and Rohit Pawar have alleged that the Maharashtra government is reducing the number of beneficiaries under the Ladki Bahin scheme in phases to cut expenditure. After 80 lakh women were declared ineligible, Patil said another 50-60 lakh may be removed next year.

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Mr. Patil said that the State government wants to reduce expenditure on the scheme. According to him, the number of beneficiaries is being reduced in phases. He said 80 lakh women have been declared ineligible now, and the names of another 50 to 60 lakh women may be removed next year. He alleged this is an attempt to reduce the financial burden on the government.

Mr. Patil raised a question: did the government have no knowledge of possible irregularities when the scheme was launched? He said if some beneficiaries were ineligible or fake, how did they receive the subsidy for 19 to 20 months? He asked what the relevant system was doing during this period. He demanded that officials responsible for distributing funds to such beneficiaries be held accountable.

In a social media post, Mr. Patil said that after the Lok Sabha election defeat, women were given scheme benefits on a large scale ahead of the assembly elections. Now, 80 lakh women have been disqualified from the same scheme. He said lakhs of women have been excluded today, and more may be disqualified tomorrow on various grounds. He said if the government had done proper verification and planning from the beginning, this situation would not have arisen. He alleged there may be an attempt to close the scheme in phases.

Rohit Pawar said the government has removed the names of 81 lakh women from the Ladki Bahin scheme, which had 2.47 crore beneficiaries before the elections. He said KYC is an excuse, and the real goal is to close the scheme by removing beneficiaries step by step.

He said if the government implemented the scheme without KYC on the eve of elections and now calls these women ineligible, then the government’s act is fake. He said if the government tries to recover money from women beneficiaries, it should instead recover the amount from Ministers and officials. He warned that any action against women would cost the government.