Patna: Before assembly polls, Congress on Wednesday announced that an amount of Rs 2500 would be transferred directly to women`s bank accounts under ‘Mai Bahan Maan Yojana’ if the opposition, INDIA bloc, formed the next government in Bihar.
Congress`s announcement is quite interesting as RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav had already announced in December last year itself to launch ‘Mai Behan Maan Yojana’ and credit Rs 2500 per month in the accounts of women if his party formed the government in the state.
The relationship between two major allies of the opposition I.N.DI.A. bloc in Bihar –RJD and Congress- has been a matter of animated discussions ever since the grand old party started shedding old inhibitions and asserting itself, apparently much to Lalu Party`s discomfiture.
State Congress president Rajesh Kumar and Mahila Congress national president Alka Lamba Lamba made an announcement about the financial benefit to women.
State Congress chief said that all constituents of the grand alliance, part of the INDIA bloc, were taking steps to reach out to the people from various sections. He said that the coordination committee of the alliance had given its nod to the Mai Bahan Maan Yojana.
“The scheme is already being implemented in Karnataka, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh where our party is in power”, he added.
Lamba said that her party was making all efforts to ensure that the benefit of the scheme reached every woman under its ‘Mission Bihar 2025’. Congress also released a poster mentioning that Rs 2500 would be given to all needy women if the grand alliance formed the next government in the state. For registration under the scheme, a woman has to make a missed call and fill in some information.
The scheme will cover women from all castes and all sections of the society, Lamba claimed, accusing Nitish Kumar government of not filling vacant posts reserved for women. Female literacy rate is lowest in Bihar and Congress is committed to improving it, she claimed.
Although women are considered a strong vote bank of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s JD (U), all parties are trying to increase their support base among this caste-neutral constituency in view of their important role in the recent assembly elections held in various states. During the 2024 Lok Sabha election in Bihar, 53 percent men voters exercised their franchise in comparison to women`s turnout at 59.45 percent.
