"Introduced without any forethought for state finances": Jairam Ramesh targets Mahayuti govt over Ladki Bahin Yojana
Sep 30, 2024
New Delhi [India], September 30 : Congress General Secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh launched a no holds barred attack on the Maharashtra government over the Ladki Bahin Yojana scheme.
In a post on X, Jairam cited a media report that quotes Union Minister Nitin Gadkari saying that the Ladki Bahin Yojana scheme could affect the timely payment of subsidies for other schemes.
He said, "After the landslide defeats faced by Mahayuti candidates across Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha Elections, the khokhe sarkaar's strategists came up with the Ladki Bahin Yojana to salvage their fortunes. It was a purely political ploy, introduced without any forethought or concern for the finances of the state. Now, Nitin Gadkari, a senior Union Minister, has admitted that Maharashtra is in such fiscal distress that it cannot pay out subsidies for other schemes."
He further alleged that due to an "emergency fund shortage," aid for families of farmers who died by suicide was cancelled (and only restored after pressure from the Opposition)
"Over 400 contractors to the PWD have remained unpaid for 15 months. Maharashtra's fiscal deficit has crossed Rs. 1 lakh crore, and the total debt burden has crossed Rs. 7 lakh crore - that is almost 20 per cent of the state GDP, and the 2nd-highest in India. Due to the ruinous spending and mismanagement of funds, Maharashtra's GDP growth has slowed to just over 5 per cent this year," Jairam said.
He further highlighted that Telangana is growing at 13 percent, and Karnataka and Himachal are growing at 10 per cent.
Sharpening his attacks on the Maharashtra government, the Congress MP said that the Mahayuti is a Government of horse-trading and back room politics.
"It does not have public legitimacy, nor does it have the ability to govern. It is a political alliance built on the shared interest of looting from the state's exchequer. They have overseen a decade where the once nation-leading state of Maharashtra has fallen behind other top-performing states. A landslide defeat awaits the Mahayuti. The incoming MVA Sarkar will restore Maharashtra's economic growth story, rescue it from fiscal mismanagement, and deliver on both existing subsidies and other commitments to Maharashtra's families," Jairam Ramesh said.
