Bhopal,Dec 15: Madhya Pradesh Cabinet Minister Vijay Shah triggered a fresh political controversy after his remarks on beneficiaries of the state government’s flagship Ladli Behna Yojana went viral with the Opposition Congress accusing him of coercion and demanding his dismissal.
The remarks were made during a District Development Advisory Committee meeting in Ratlam on December 13 where Shah the district in charge minister directed officials to ensure that women beneficiaries felicitate Chief Minister Mohan Yadav at a special ceremony marking his two years in office.
A purported video of the meeting shows Shah asking officials how many beneficiaries could be mobilised for the event. If we want to felicitate the Chief Minister on behalf of the Ladli Behnas how many can come? Will 50,000 out of 2.5 lakh attend? he asked referring to the number of beneficiaries in Ratlam district.
Shah went on to suggest that around 50,000 women should participate in the programme and allegedly linked attendance to the recent hike in monthly assistance under the scheme. “We will verify those whose payments have increased by ₹250 each. If someone’s Aadhaar is not linked we will put the verification on hold for a while. That means they will automatically become pending. Then all of them will come” he was heard saying.
The Ladli Behna Yojana provides monthly financial assistance to women through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). The amount was recently increased from ₹1,250 to ₹1,500 per month with the hike approved by the state Cabinet in November. The scheme currently covers around 1.27 crore women across Madhya Pradesh.
Defending his remarks, Shah said beneficiaries should express gratitude to the government. “The government is giving crores of rupees at the rate of ₹1,500 per month. So a thank you is warranted at least once in two years” he said at the meeting.
The comments drew sharp reactions from the Congress which accused the minister of insulting women beneficiaries and misusing a welfare scheme for political mobilisation. State Congress president Jitu Patwari said “The BJP, which should honour its beloved sisters, is instead having its pampered minister insult them.” Alleging an “anti woman mentality” he demanded Shah’s resignation.
Congress spokesperson Bhupendra Gupta termed the remarks “unconstitutional manipulative and threatening” alleging that beneficiaries were being pressured through administrative means to project public support for the Chief Minister.
The controversy comes days after Shah faced criticism earlier this year for derogatory remarks against Colonel Sofia Qureshi which had also drawn nationwide condemnation.
