Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The replacement of acting Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has disappointed several Ladli Behnas across the state. They are unhappy as their beloved 'Bhaiya' will not not continue as the chief of Madhya pradesh. Many of them fear that the party might discontinue the financial aid under the 'Ladli Behna Yojana'.
Speaking to Free Press Journal, 45-year-old homemaker Shaista Irshad said that she had offered ‘dua’ that Shivraj should continue as the chief minister for the next five years. “When I voted for the first time, I voted for the BJP only because of Shivraj,” she said. Shaista said that Shivraj not only launched many schemes for women and children but also did not discriminate between the Hindus and the Muslims.
'Offered Dua For Shivraj'
Sheelu Malviya (36) who works as warden in an NGO, wanted Shivraj to get another term. “I am worried that the Ladli Behna scheme may be shut down if someone else becomes the chief minister,” she said.
A homemaker Shehar likes Shivraj a lot. “He thinks about the wellbeing of everyone,” she said. Shehar was also apprehensive that Shivraj’s exit from the government may lead to closure of the Ladli Behna scheme.
Political experts, however, say that the change of chief minister does not lead to an automatic withdrawal of the schemes and programmes launched by him.
“The new chief minister will be under the pressure to continue the scheme that has become so widely popular,” says political analyst Girija Shankar. As for whether Chouhan’s promise of raising the Ladli Behna monthly dole to Rs 3,000 and of extending it to unmarried women were concerned, much would depend on whether they are a part of the BJP’s election manifesto. “If they are in the manifesto, the new chief minister will be bound by it,” he said.
A senior officer from the Women and Child Development Department said that there was no link between the continuance of Ladli Behna scheme and continuance of Shivraj as the chief minister. “How can the government discontinue the scheme when it is being said that the massive mandate for the BJP was due to it,” he said.
Besides Ladli Behna, Chouhan has launched several women-oriented schemes. In 2006, only a year after Shivraj Singh Chouhan came into power, he had launched Mukhyamantri Kanya Vivah / Nikah Yojana. This was followed by Gaon Ki Beti Yojana in 2006, Ladli Laxmi Yojana in 2007, Pratibha Kiran Yojana in 2008, Beti Bachao Abhiyan in 2011 and Swagatam Laxmi Yojana and Gauravi Abhiyan in 2014. The state government has also launched women-centric Tejaswini Yojana, Sabla Yojana, Lado Abhiyan etc.
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