Mumbai, The Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) said on Thursday that the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana has emerged as one of the biggest scams in Maharashtra’s history.
STORY | Ladki Bahin scheme one of Maharashtra’s biggest scandals, caused loss of Rs 24.3k cr: NCP (SP)
The Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) on Thursday said the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana has emerged as one of biggest scandals in Maharashtra’s history as more than 80 lakh…
The party alleged that over eight lakh beneficiaries were found ineligible after receiving assistance, resulting in a loss of Rs 24,300 crore to the state treasury. NCP (SP) spokesperson Mahesh Tapase questioned during a press conference how a government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which claims to be committed to transparency and good governance, allowed such large-scale misuse of public funds.
Mahesh Tapase said that according to available data, out of the total 24 lakh beneficiaries of this flagship scheme, approximately eight lakh beneficiaries were found ineligible after the funds were distributed. Tapase stated that among those found ineligible are about 14,000 men, around one lakh taxpayers, five lakh government employees, and several lakh vehicle owners.
Tapase asked, “The people of Maharashtra deserve an answer. Was this a welfare scheme or an election campaign run on taxpayers’ money? The government that distributed thousands of crores without basic verification cannot escape its moral responsibility.” He claimed that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s admission that the state government relied on self-certification instead of proper scrutiny before the elections is akin to an acknowledgment of administrative failure.
Government asked to respond over failure in beneficiary verification
The NCP (SP) leader alleged, “The Mahayuti government deliberately bypassed the necessary verification process before the elections with the intention of influencing voters. This was not social justice; it was a loot of taxpayers’ money and an attempt to seize political power through that misuse. In this way, the government has caused an estimated loss of Rs 24,300 crore.”
Tapase asked the Chief Minister to immediately disclose who approved the beneficiary verification process, who failed to identify ineligible beneficiaries, and what disciplinary or punitive action will be taken against the officials responsible for this serious negligence. He said, “The BJP, Shiv Sena, and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) must collectively accept the moral responsibility for the financial loss and compensate for the huge damage to the state treasury. Every rupee wasted is the hard-earned money of Maharashtra’s taxpayers.”
