Civic polls: Bawankule hits out at Congress over plea to stop Ladki Bahin payments

Nagpur, Jan 11 (PTI) Maharashtra Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Sunday slammed the Congress, accusing the party of being "anti-women" over its letter to the state election commission seeking to halt the disbursal of the monthly stipend under the Madki Bahin Scheme until after the civic polls.

Speaking to reporters, the state revenue minister said the government scheme, launched in 2024, does not breach the model code of conduct, which is in effect for the January 15 municipal corporation election.

Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) on Saturday wrote to the state election commission, urging it to direct the government to release the December 2025 and January instalments of the Makhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme only after the municipal corporation elections are over, so that more than one crore women beneficiaries of the scheme do not get influenced.

Bawankule claimed that the Congress had made similar attempts against the scheme in the past when a close aide of party leader Nana Patole had approached the high court when the initiative was launched, while another party leader had said that they would discontinue it when their government came to power.

"The real face of Congress has come before the people now. The Ladki Bahin Yojana is an ongoing government scheme, and does not breach the model code of conduct," he said.

The Congress's letter to the Election Commission shows its "anti-women approach", he said.

Bawankule, along with Nagpur BJP chief Dayashankar Tiwari, released the BJP's manifesto for the Nagpur Municipal Corporation election, listing plans for 'Viksit Nagpur' if voted to power.

Tiwari said that the Central and state governments are determined for the overall development of Nagpur, not just its expansion. PTI CLS ARU