Uddhav Thackeray fears Ladki Bahin Yojana’s popularity: Maharashtra BJP president

Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray; (right) State BJP president Chandrasekhar Bawankule

Five days before the women of the state get the first two instalments of the 'Mukhyamantri Ladki Bahin Yojana', state BJP president Chandrasekhar Bawankule said that Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray feared a defeat in the Assembly elections, because of the huge popularity of the said scheme.

"Uddhav Thackeray foresees a defeat in the Assembly elections. And that is exactly why he is criticising this scheme and trying to make a joke around it," said Bawankule on Monday. He informed that 25 lakh women of the state will be sending rakhis to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on the day of Raksha Bandhan to express their gratitude for this scheme.

Bawankule said that the first instalment of the 'Mukhyamantri Ladki Bahin' scheme will be deposited in women's accounts on August 17. "The Ladki Bahin Yojana is a permanent scheme and even if women take insurance for just R3,000 out of this R18,000, their entire family can get a security cover in this scheme. Uddhav Thackeray has tried to mislead women by spreading misinformation about Ladki Bahin Yojana. Those who are born into a family of millionaires will never know the value of this scheme. Thackeray has shown his ideological bankruptcy by making fun of a scheme so useful for women," he added.

Bawankule thanked CM Eknath Shinde for announcing a scheme on behalf of the Mahayuti government. He said that in Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh where the government of Congress and its allies took votes with the promise of Gruhalakshmi Yojana ahead of the elections, had stopped the scheme immediately after coming to power. "Those who lie to the people have no right to criticise the Ladki Bahin Yojana. It is no wonder that Uddhav Thackeray, who supports such a party of liars, sees this scheme as a lie."

Citing the example of the Madhya Pradesh government, Bawankule mentioned that in the states where the BJP and its allies were in government, schemes were not announced while keeping an eye on the vote bank. "Instead, various schemes are being implemented in perpetuity," he added.