Timely subsidies in other sectors uncertain as govt has to fund Ladki Bahin scheme: Gadkari

Union minister Nitin Gadkari has said the Maharashtra government’s mega ‘Ladki Bahin Yojana’, which provides financial assistance to underprivileged women, could affect the timely payment of subsidies in other sectors.

He described the government as a “vishkanya’ (poisonous maiden) and added it should be kept at bay irrespective of which political party heads it.

Latching onto the BJP leader’s comments on Ladki Bahin, coming ahead of polls and a time when the Mahayuti government is aggressively promoting the scheme, the opposition NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) said if those in the government were themselves saying the state’s economy was in distress, then it is a matter of concern.

Addressing a public event in Nagpur, his Lok Sabha constituency, on Sunday, Gadkari said, “It is uncertain whether investors will receive their subsidy payment on time as the government also has to allocate funds for the Ladki Bahin Yojana.” The Minister for Road Transport & Highways said entrepreneurs in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region, where Nagpur is located, should come forward for making investment as everything cannot be left to the government.

“My opinion is that irrespective of the government, belonging to any party, keep the government at bay. Government is like a ‘vishkanya’ (poison maiden) as whosoever it goes along with, it will doom them. So do not get into that matter,” he said in a lighter vein.

“If you are getting a subsidy, take it but again it is not sure when will (one) get the subsidy. With the Ladki Bahin Yojana being started, they have to use the funds, allocated for subsidy, for that work,” said the former BJP president.

Under the Mahayuti government’s flagship welfare scheme ‘Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana’, married, divorced, and destitute women aged 21-65 are receiving Rs 1,500 per month as stipend with the annual family income of beneficiaries capped at Rs 2.5 lakh.

The scheme, introduced ahead of the upcoming assembly polls, is expected to cost the state exchequer Rs 46,000 crore annually.

The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has called the scheme financially unviable and Gadkari’s latest comments provided fresh ammunition to Mahayuti’s rivals to attack the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP coalition government.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said, “Gadkari made a pertinent statement. If there is misuse and mismanagement of funds at a time when the treasury is lacking funds and the government is suspending other schemes, does the Union government have some responsibility (regarding the state’s plan)?” Notably, BJP MLA Tekchand Sawarkar last week called the Ladki Bahin Yojana a ‘jugaad’ (ploy) to garner women’s votes in polls which are likely to be held in November.

Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis sought to downplay Gadkari’s comments, saying he has certain style of saying things and put across his views.

“However, all welfare schemes of our government are part of the state budget, hence there should not be any doubt about their viability. All those schemes will continue and there will not be any issue with funds. The opposition is rattled with the success of the (Ladki Bahin) scheme. That is why they are talking negatively about such schemes,” Fadnavis said in Kolhapur.

NCP (SP) Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule also expressed concern over the state’s financial situation.

Talking to reporters in Pune, she said those in the government and economists have been consistently saying the state is in a financially difficult position.

Be it Gadkari or MNS chief Raj Thackeray and economists, people in the government, those close to it and those who are neutral, all are consistently saying the state’s economy is in distress, emphasised Sule.

“If people within the government are saying that Maharashtra is in financial distress, then it is a matter of concern,” she noted.

Sule maintained that NCP (SP) Maharashtra unit chief Jayant Patil, a former state finance minister, had been saying the same thing, but his remarks have been ignored.

“Besides, when the finance department objects (to some decisions) or provides suggestions, nobody listens. In fact, cabinet decisions are forcefully implemented,” she claimed.