Madhya Pradesh CM defends Ladli Behna scheme

Bhopal: Chief minister Mohan Yadav on Wednesday took strong exception to the purported statement by Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesman Sanjay Raut that the Ladli Behna scheme in Madhya Pradesh has been suspended and dared him to visit the state and see how it is being implemented.

Mr Yadav said that the money under the scheme has been disbursed to around 1.29 crore beneficiaries ‘every month on the assigned date’ without fail since it was implemented 14 months ago.

“It has been brought to my notice that Sanjay Raut has said the Ladli Behna scheme has been dropped in Madhya Pradesh. It is highly misleading. I invite him to visit Madhya Pradesh and see for himself how the money is being transferred to bank accounts of 1.29 crore beneficiaries under the scheme”, the chief minister said.

Mr Yadav slammed the SS (UBT) spokesman for ‘spreading lies’ about the scheme, saying that the latter’s statement is a manifestation of panic set in the Opposition camp in Maharashtra over their imminent defeat in the upcoming Assembly elections in their state owing to the implementation of a scheme in the line of Ladli Behna.

The Maharashtra government has recently implemented the ‘Mukhyamantri Ladki Bahin’ scheme in the line of MP’s Ladli Behna Yojana ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls, providing a monthly financial assistance of Rs 1500 to the beneficiaries.

“SS (UBT) is now staring at massive defeat for the Opposition alliance in the upcoming Assembly elections in Maharashtra and hence, the party is spreading misleading information on the Ladli Behna scheme of Madhya Pradesh”, Mr Yadav said.

The idea of ‘Ladli Behna’ scheme was first floated by the then state Congress president and former chief minister Kamal Nath around four months before the November 2023 Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh by declaring that Congress if returned to power in the state would provide financial assistance of Rs 1,000 to women every month.

Later, the then chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had picked up the idea and conceptualised and implemented the Ladli Behna scheme providing a monthly financial assistance of Rs 1,000 to the beneficiaries.

The scheme had proved to be a game changer for ruling BJP in the last Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh to retain power in the state.

Later, the amount was increased by Rs 250 to Rs 1,250.

The MP government has earmarked Rs 18,000 crore in the budget for 2024-25 for the implementation of the scheme.