Maha MLA says will take back Laadli Behna Scheme if sisters don't vote for BJP

New Delhi: There has been controversy around the remarks made by Maharashtra BJP MLA Ravi Rana, who stated that the government would take back the Rs 1,500 that was promised under the Laadli Behna plan if “sisters” did not vote for the BJP in the next assembly elections.

The New Indian Express stated that the program, which was unveiled mere months before the Assembly elections, had received a 25,000 crore allocation from the BJP-led NDA government.

The comments were made in Amrawati by MLA Rana, who is the spouse of BJP politician Navneet Rana, during the distribution of program certificates. Rana went on to say that the government will raise the money under the scheme from Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,000 if it comes to power, the Wire reported.

However, if "sisters" do not vote for him, he will withhold the funds, according to Rana, as reported by The New Indian Express.

The NDA had previously suffered a setback in the Lok Sabha elections when the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi-INDIA (MVA-INDIA) won 30 out of the 48 seats in Maharashtra; the NDA could win only 17 seats.

Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar of the Congress attacked Rana and the MahaYuti regime and claimed that it is trying to trick the women of the state and buy 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, reported Deccan Herald