‘Made a mistake of giving financial benefit to all women’: Ajit Pawar on Ladki Bahin scheme; Uddhav Sena cries voter bribe | India News

NEW DELHI: Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Monday admitted that the state authorities made a “mistake” in extending financial advantages to all candidates of the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana with out ample scrutiny, attributing the lapse to time constraints forward of final yr’s meeting elections.“We made a mistake of giving the financial benefit to all women (applicants). We had little time to scrutinise the applications and identify the ineligible ones. At that time, elections were supposed to be announced in two to three months,” information company PTI reported Pawar as saying.The Ladki Bahin scheme, launched in August 2024, affords Rs 1,500 monthly to eligible ladies aged 21 to 65 years with an annual revenue beneath Rs 2.5 lakh. Though it was designed to empower poor ladies, scrutiny revealed hundreds of ineligible recipients, together with over 2,200 authorities staff.Pawar, who additionally heads the state’s finance division, clarified that the help already deposited won’t be withdrawn. “When the scheme was unveiled, the government had appealed that only eligible women apply but that didn’t happen. A scrutiny is being conducted. Only the needy women will get the monthly payout,” he mentioned.His admission drew sturdy reactions from the opposition. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut demanded Pawar’s resignation, accusing him of enabling a misuse of public funds to acquire electoral benefit. Raut mentioned the finance division had presided over a “loot of government money for the sake of votes”.Earlier, Maharashtra minister Aditi Tatkare confirmed the federal government had disqualified 2,289 ineligible authorities staff after inspecting almost two lakh functions. In a latest put up on X, she assured the general public that such scrutiny would proceed frequently. “After realising this, such beneficiaries are not being given the benefit of the scheme,” she wrote.The Ladki Bahin scheme was credited with boosting the Mahayuti alliance’s efficiency within the November 2024 meeting elections. However, it has additionally led to budgetary pressure. Social Justice Minister Sanjay Shirsat conceded that the federal government was underneath stress, saying, “It is a reality that the monthly amount of Rs 1,500 cannot be raised to Rs 2,100.” He added that the scheme would proceed even when it required the state to borrow funds.Shirsat additionally criticised the finance division for diverting funds from his ministry with out discover. In March, he alleged that Rs 7,000 crore had been slashed from the Social Justice Department’s price range, and on Monday, he referred to as for a regulation to shield such departments from arbitrary cuts.According to official tips, beneficiaries should meet revenue and residency standards and supply Aadhaar-linked financial institution accounts. Newly married ladies can current a marriage certificates if their title doesn’t seem on a ration card. While the scheme goals to help ladies’s financial independence, the federal government now faces rising scrutiny over its execution.