The Maharashtra government's decision to allot ₹5 crore each to the first-time MLAs of the ruling alliance has attracted criticism from the Opposition. The decision to dispense ₹270 crore for 54 MLAs is nothing short of a bribe, they alleged.
While the government has given this fund for developmental activities in the constituencies, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Vijay Wadettiwar said the decision was a total wastage of funds as Maharashtra is already under a debt burden. He pointed out that the government is already cutting down spending on various important schemes. "When farmers are struggling to sell their cotton because of pending approvals, how can the state suddenly find money to give ₹5 crore each to its MLAs? Does the government have no money for farmers but enough for its legislators?" he reportedly asked in Nagpur.
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On the one hand, the government has to pay farmers affected by the flood and is cutting down benefits of the Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana scheme and now wants to give ₹5 crore each to MLAs, he pointed out. Wadettiwar said the move comes in the light of the Local Self-Government (LSG) elections which have to be held before January 31.
The BJP has countered the criticism by saying that when Uddhav was Chief Minister, the 105 BJP legislators did not get any fund for two and a half years. According to reports, the government originally wanted to allot ₹10 crore each to their MLAs but was forced to settle for ₹5 crore each due to a funding crunch.
Meanwhile, The NCP (SP) claimed on Wednesday and sought an SIT probe into alleged irregularities in the Ladki Bahin Yojana scheme. In a statement, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) spokesperson Clyde Crasto cited a response to a Right to Information (RTI) query, and said 12,431 men were disbursed ₹1,500 each a month for 13 months, with the total amount pegged at ₹2.42 crore, under the scheme meant for women from families earning less than ₹2.5 lakh annually. The spokesperson for the Opposition party termed the disbursal of stipend to men under a scheme targeted at poor women as "hilarious chicanery" and noted the government stands exposed over implementation of its flagship welfare programme.