Check for yourself success stories of Ladki Bahin Yojana Dy CM Shinde tells critics

Thane, Aug 10 (PTI) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said critics of the Ladki Bahin Yojana must see for themselves the financial support it is providing families of beneficiaries, many of whom have started businesses and have become self-employed.
He was talking to the media late Saturday night after visiting a tea stall started by a Ladki Bahin Yojana beneficiary in Thane.
"It has been started with funds received from the scheme. Many such Ladki Bahins have started businesses, due to which their families are getting financial support. The scheme is transformative and has brought about several success stories. Critics must come and check for themselves," he said.
"Some women have formed self-help groups and started selling sarees, puja materials, snacks etc. From such activities, women are getting regular income and are standing on their own feet. Our aim is that women should use their money properly and become self-reliant and empowered," Shinde added.
Self-reliance is the slogan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and citizens of the state are benefiting from it, the Deputy CM asserted.
Launched by the then Mahayuti government last year when Shinde was chief minister, the Ladki Bahin Yojana is credited with helping the ruling alliance, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP, retain power comprehensively in the November 2024 assembly polls.
However, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), have said the scheme is mired in irregularities and is a drain on the state exchequer.
Incidentally, the Maharashtra government on Saturday initiated a large-scale verification drive targeting over 26 lakh beneficiaries of the Mukhyamantri Ladki Bahin Yojana amid suspicions of widespread ineligibility and misuse.
As per the state Women and Child Development department, district administrations have been directed to physically verify applications and eligibility of the listed women based on set criteria, while anganwadi workers have been tasked with conducting door-to-door checks to weed out ineligible claimants.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)