The new ‘Mukhyamantri Ladli Behna Yojana’ is a gamechanger for the BJP in Madhya Pradesh, said state president VD Sharma. Nearly 45 lakh Muslim women in the state are getting Rs 1,000 per month under the scheme, he added.
In an interview with News18Sharma said chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is “neither tired nor retired” and denied there was anti-incumbency against the BJP government. He said development had reached far and wide, and out of 1.25 crore beneficiaries of the Ladli Behna scheme, 36 percent were Muslim women.
“When such things happen, Muslim women too stand with PM (Narendra) Modi, CM Shivraj (Singh) Chouhan and the BJP,” he said, adding that the payout under the scheme will gradually be raised from Rs 1,000 per month to Rs 3,000.
Here are some excerpts from the interview:
Is the new ‘Ladli Behna Yojana’ your gamechanger?
For the BJP government, it’s not just Ladli Behna Yojana that is the game changer. We have many schemes for the poor run by the Centre and state, including this. Ladli Behna was not made keeping elections in mind. Earlier, too, we had started ‘Ladli Laxmi Yojana’ and ‘Kanyadaan Yojana’ – in fact, the Kamal Nath-led government stopped the second one and we restarted it. For us, ‘mahila samman’ (women’s self-pride) is most important. We have already paid two instalments of Rs 1,000 each and 1.25 crore women have received it as beneficiaries. This is a historic scheme by our government and will impact all sections of society as women run the house.
But isn’t this ‘revdi’ culture?
Under our rule, the sex ratio in Madhya Pradesh has increased to 978 females per 1,000 males. We have brought social change through our schemes. Ladli Behna is not just for vote-bank politics but to empower women… It is not ‘revdi’ culture. The whole society is praising the scheme. Also, women have always backed us; not just in MP, but across the country.
What do you mean by the whole society backing you?
The country is now seeing that a section of society was perceived as opposed to the BJP – the minorities – but the leadership of PM Modi thought of women in these minority communities and ended triple talaq. I want to tell you that out of 1.25 crore beneficiaries of Ladli Behna, 36 percent are Muslim women (close to 45 lakh). So, when such things happen, even Muslim women stand with PM Modi, CM Shivraj Chouhan and the BJP.
So women will show you the victory path?
Our winning mantra is in the hands of our women for sure. We are giving each woman in the house Rs 1,000 per month. Our senior women, who are not eligible for it, were getting Rs 600 per month as pension and the CM has promised that they will soon get Rs 1,000 per month as well. The CM has also announced that the money will be gradually increased to Rs 3,000.
Won’t women also trust Kamal Nath’s poll promises – like Rs 1,500 per month for women and a cylinder at Rs 500?
The Congress always tells lies. In 2018, they announced farm loan waiver, unemployment allowance and Rs 100 rebate on gas cylinders. But they did not deliver on any of the three promises in 15 months. Now, they are again telling lies and making false promises. The way the Congress lies can be seen from the promises they have made in Karnataka, Rajasthan or Chhattisgarh. Their guarantee cards are only lies. The PM in Bhopal said the Congress guarantees were lies.
But from where will you bring the budget for an expanded ‘Ladli Laxmi Yojana’?
When the Kamal Nath-led government came into power, as the CM, he always complained of shortage of funds. But he was able to arrange money for the IIFA awards in Indore… Under the BJP government, we provided all the money and worked for the poor. Niti Aayog says over 1.36 crore people have come out of poverty due to the government schemes over the years.
Is CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s face as popular, and what about anti-incumbency?
Anti-incumbency takes place where work does not happen. Our CM believes in hard work and full effort. Today, if you go anywhere in MP, you will see development. The CM’s connect with people and his effort to always stand with the poor, so he is neither tired nor retired but he is on the ground. Our CM is a party worker at heart.