NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule has said the opposition MVA is not planning to counter the Maharashtra government's flagship Ladki Bahin Yojana, but questioned the amount provided under the scheme in view of the soaring inflation.
Under the Ladki Bahin Yojana, women with an annual family income of less than Rs 2.5 lakh are given Rs 1500 per month as aid.
On the scheme being called a "gamechanger" ahead of the November 20 state assembly polls, Lok Sabha member Sule in an interview to PTI said, "All depends on how you see it and who is saying it."
''Rs 1,500 is given to women and at the same time oil prices, food inflation is at an all-time high. Sales dropped during Diwali and the state GDP is not flattering. Crimes against women have gone up,'' she pointed out.
Sule said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the NCP (SP), Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT), is not attempting to counter the Ladki Bahin scheme.
''The Congress government had brought Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojana for women. We didn't scream from the roof. The needy people needed help, so the government stepped in. We didn't make it into an obligation,'' she said.
The MVA will ensure value addition to the financial benefit by providing health care and security to women.
Sule also said her party never had a problem with the Congress.
"We have been allies for 24 years and it has been a smooth-sailing," she said.
The parliamentarian said she saw no reason for voters in the Pawar family stronghold of Baramati to be confused. If they weren't confused in the Lok Sabha polls, why should they be now.
''Voters are bright. Have full faith in them,'' she added.
Sule's cousin and Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar is pitted against his nephew Yugendra Pawar in the Baramati assembly seat.
On Donald Trump winning a second term to the White House, Sule said the strong foundation for India-US relations was laid by (the then prime minister) Manmohan Singh and Barack Obama.
''I don't see any change, I can see Manmohan Singh's legacy continuing,'' she said.
Sule said she was amused why her father and NCP (SP) head Sharad Pawar's statement of retirement from parliamentary politics was being talked about.
''He has just said he wants to take a backseat in parliamentary politics. By the time his Rajya Sabha term ends, he will be 85 years old. If he wants to keep working for farmers and downtrodden people, it is a wonderful thing,'' she said.
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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