Bihar's women will get Rs 2,500 monthly stipend if Mahagathbandhan govt is formed: Congress

Patna: All India Mahila Congress chief Alka Lamba on Wednesday announced that the women of Bihar will get a monthly stipend of Rs 2,500 if the Mahagathbandhan, of which her party is a constituent, comes to power in the state after the assembly polls due later this year.

Lamba made the promise during a press conference here, backing to the hilt the 'Mai Behan Maan' scheme which was visualised by her alliance partner Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD a few months ago.

"The NDA governments at the Centre as well as in the state are least bothered about the welfare of the people, especially women. But the Congress and the alliance partners of the Mahagathbandhan are concerned about them. If the Mahagathbandhan comes to power in the upcoming elections in Bihar, Rs 2,500 per month will be provided by the state government to women belonging to deprived sections," she said.

"We will implement this scheme immediately after forming the government, just like we did in Telangana, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh," she said.

Party leaders will distribute forms across the state for the scheme and those will be filled for the eligible women by the workers of the alliance partners, Lamba said.

The party has also issued a mobile number – 8800023525 -- on which eligible women can give a missed call for registration.

"The Bihar government is giving only Rs 400 monetary support to poor women, which is a very meagre amount. That too is not being given regularly. The condition of women in Bihar's rural areas is very pathetic... crimes against women have increased substantially but the state government is remaining a mute spectator," she alleged.

When asked about a similar scheme already announced by Tejashwi Yadav, Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Ram told reporters, "Let me make it very clear... it's a scheme of the Mahagathbandhan. Workers of all alliance partners will work towards creating awareness among voters about the scheme, which will be implemented after the formation of the government."

"This decision was taken in a recently held meeting of the coordination committee of the Mahagathbandhan for Bihar. This is not a scheme of any particular party," he added.

However, it is true that the scheme was first implemented by the Congress in Karnataka and then in Himachal Pradesh, and a similar scheme was also implemented by the Mahagatbandhan government in Jharkhand, Ram said.

Reacting to the announcement, state BJP spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said, "Today's announcement of 'Mai Behan Maan' scheme by the Congress reveals how parties of the Mahagathbandhan are fighting each other for taking credit for the scheme. They are simply misleading the electorate."

Tejashwi Yadav had in February this year announced that if his party came to power in the elections, Rs 2,500 per month would be transferred by the state government into the bank accounts of women belonging to deprived sections.