Gadkari questions credibility of Ladki Bahin scheme

NAGPUR: Union Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nitin Gadkari has once again shamed the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra ahead of the state elections, saying its Ladki Bahin Yojana could delay the timely payment of subsidies in other sectors. Gadkari’s controversial statement comes at a time when his absence from the BJP’s poll-related meetings is being discussed in political circles.

Addressing the ‘Amazing Vidarbha – Central India Tourism’ conference organized by the Vidarbha Economic Development Council in Nagpur on Sunday, the controversial Nagpur MP, who often causes discomfiture to both the government and his party, said the Maharashtra government’s Ladki Bahin scheme, which provides financial assistance of ₹1,500 per month to economically vulnerable women across the state, could compromise subsidies in other sectors.

“We should not be dependent on the government for everything. “Regardless of which party is in power, stay away from it,” he said. Gadkari added that a government is a ‘vishkanya’ (poisonous girl) and it drowns whoever aligns with it.

On government subsidies, Gadkari recalled, “Once, my son said he had to receive ₹450 crores as a subsidy for a project. He asked when he would get the subsidy. I told him to pray to God because there is no assurance. The Ladki Bahin Yojana has just started, and they have to use funds allocated for subsidies for it.”

The scheme, introduced ahead of the upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls, is expected to cost the state exchequer ₹46,000 crore annually.

Gadkari said the biggest challenge to investments in Vidarbha is a lack of investors who can contribute ₹500-1,000 crore. “Because of this, big projects are not coming to us. We are constantly trying to find someone but have not succeeded so far.”

The Union minister has been in the news for his controversial statements in the past. He made headlines last week when he claimed he had received offers to become prime minister “multiple times” both, before and after the Lok Sabha elections held a few months ago. Last month, at an event in Pune, he said the true test of leadership in a democratic system is the ability of those in power to accept and reflect on criticism. “The problem our country is facing is not a matter of differing opinions, but rather a lack of them,” he said, clearly referencing his critics within his party.