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00:00Dear viewers, what do you call a scheme that begins as a promise to empower poor women
00:05but ends up funding well-paid government employees?
00:09A mistake, a blunder or just another election stunt gone wrong?
00:14Welcome to this honest take with me, Tejas, where we are peeling back the layers of
00:19Maharashtra's Ukhya Mantri Maji Ladki Bahin Yojna.
00:23A scheme launched to help women in need but now caught in web of rule changes,
00:28mismanagement and mounting political questions.
00:31The Mahayuti claimed it was about empowerment but was it also about votes?
00:36Let's find out.
00:37But before that, please subscribe to our channel if you haven't already
00:40and press the bell icon to never miss an update.
00:43In August 2024, just months before the Maharashtra Assembly elections,
00:48the state government launched a feel-good welfare scheme, Diladki Bahin Yojna,
00:52a monthly Rs. 1500 promise to economically weaker women aged 21-65 earning under Rs. 2.5 lakh annually.
01:01Sounds great, right?
01:03But let's not pretend this did not come with political timing.
01:06A massive push to enroll beneficiaries just ahead of elections, rallies, promotions, speeches.
01:12The Mahayuti alliance made sure every woman in the state know about it.
01:17And what happened in November?
01:18The Mahayuti returned to power with a thumping majority.
01:22Coincidence?
01:23Maybe.
01:24But as we dig deeper, it is clear.
01:27The execution of the scheme had very little to do with the social welfare
01:30and everything to do with election strategy.
01:33Here is where it gets murky.
01:35In what the government calls a mistake,
01:38over 2,200 government-employed women who were explicitly ineligible for this scheme
01:44ended up receiving Rs. 1500 per month from the taxpayer's pocket.
01:49Let that sink in.
01:50Public servants drawing regular salaries,
01:53getting extra taxpayer money meant for struggling women.
01:57And Deputy Chief Minister Rajit Pawar did not deny it.
02:00In fact, he admitted,
02:01we had little time to scrutinize the applications elections were approaching.
02:06Translation?
02:07The scheme was rushed.
02:09Eligibility checks were bypassed.
02:11And the government knowingly distributed crores of rupees
02:15without verifying who was actually eligible.
02:18And now,
02:19these ineligible employees have been removed from the list.
02:22But no one is asking the obvious question.
02:25Why were they on it in the first place?
02:27Initially, the scheme painted a picture of universal female empowerment.
02:32But now,
02:33the government is quietly changing the rules.
02:36Rs. 1500 has been slashed to Rs. 500 for around 8 lakh women,
02:41citing budget constraints and overlapping benefits.
02:45Verification checks have intensified.
02:47And while that is necessary,
02:48the result is that fewer women are now actually receiving aid.
02:52Some districts are reporting delays, confusion and even cancellations.
02:56So, the scheme that helped win votes just six months ago,
03:00it is now being trimmed, restricted and partially rolled back.
03:04It raises a troubling question.
03:06Was this scheme ever meant to be sustainable?
03:09Or was it just one season blockbuster meant for the election audience?
03:13Contradictions are hard to ignore.
03:15Ajit Pawar says,
03:16the wrongly credited money won't be recovered.
03:19Revenue Minister Chandrasekhar Bhavankure says,
03:21recovery is underway.
03:23The finance department blames time pressure.
03:26And critics,
03:27they call it voter bribery.
03:29Everyone is passing the buck,
03:31but no one is taking responsibility.
03:33And here is the kicker.
03:34While the government says,
03:35the scheme was only for poor women,
03:37it turns out,
03:38even that promise is now being diluted.
03:41Many truly deserving women have been left out
03:43during the new verification process.
03:46Meanwhile,
03:46those who should never have qualified,
03:49have already received multiple payments.
03:51It is like rewarding the wrong people
03:53while punishing the honest ones.
03:55The Shio Sena UBT and other opposition parties
03:57are now calling it what it probably is,
04:00voter bribery dressed up as empowerment.
04:03They have even demanded Ajit Pawar's resignation.
04:06And they do have a point.
04:08When a scheme is launched just before elections,
04:11when eligibility checks are skipped,
04:13when rupees 1500 lands in salaried bank accounts,
04:16when rules keep shifting post-election,
04:19it is hard not to suspect
04:21that this wasn't about empowerment,
04:23but about enrolment
04:24into the Mahayuti voter base.
04:27Ladki Bahin was supposed to be a bridge
04:29for women left behind by the system.
04:32But somewhere along the way,
04:33it became a shortcut to political gain.
04:36And now,
04:37that bridge is starting to collapse
04:38under its own contradictions.
04:41If this government truly believes
04:42in women's empowerment,
04:43it needs to stop using schemes as electoral bait
04:46and start treating beneficiaries
04:48with honesty and dignity.
04:50Because here is the honest take.
04:52Giving money is easy.
04:54But building trust,
04:55especially after breaking it,
04:57is a lot harder.
04:58This was your honest take today with me, Tejas.
05:00If you think women deserve more than
05:02token schemes and political juggling,
05:05don't forget to like, share and tell us
05:07what you think in the comments below.
05:09Until next time,
05:10stay sharp, stay curious
05:11and never stop asking questions.