Mumbai: Controversial politician and Independent MLA Ravi Rana has come under the fire of the ruling BJP-led Maha Yuti (NDA) as well as the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (I.N.D.I.A.) for his comments on the Mukhya Mantri Ladki Bahin Yojana, an ambitious cash-benefit scheme.
Rana, a three-time Independent MLA from Badnera, triggered a controversy when he said that the Rs 1,500 per month given per month per person would be taken back if the beneficiaries do not vote Maha Yuti back to power.
Rana’s wife Navneet Rana is a former Amravati MP.
“When the Maha Yuti government returns to power (after the October Assembly elections), it will double the Ladki Bahin scheme amount from Rs 1,500 to Rs 3000 per month…however, if you don't bless us in the polls, then we shall take back even the Rs 1,500. If the government gives you all this, then it should also get your support,” Rana said.
The statement of Rana has come at a time when Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena) and Deputy Chief Ministers - Devendra Fadnavis (BJP) and Ajit Pawar (NCP) - are engaged in popularising the scheme.
At the weekly Cabinet meeting, the ministers have taken strong exception to the statement of Rana.
Rana has not been invited for the Maha Yuti meeting.
“Leaders should think twice before speaking and choose words properly,” Maha Yuti leaders said.
Shiv Sena leader Dr Manisha Kayande said that the statement was improper. “What he has said is not part of our culture,” she said, adding that her party condemns the statement.
The opposition MVA has condemned Rana for his statement.
Leader of Opposition in Legislative Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar of the Congress slammed Rana and the MahaYuti regime for trying to cheat the women of the state and buying out their votes for Rs 1,500 dole in the upcoming elections.
“What Rana has spoken is the mind of the Chief Minister and his deputies… Do they think that our sisters will sell their votes for a paltry Rs 1,500?,” he asked.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s national spokesperson Kishor Tiwari said Rana’s statement reflects his desperation. “He somehow wants to ensure his victory in Assembly polls after his wife (Navneet Rana) was outright rejected in the Lok Sabha elections,” he said.
“Rana has openly expressed the hidden agenda of the Maha Yuti government… They are showing a lollipop for the peoples’ votes and later the scheme would be closed. They are treating government funds as their party fund and blatantly misusing it. All this must be probed,” said NCP (SP) national spokesperson Clyde Crasto.