Sukhbir Badal asks Punjab CM not to dupe women over rollout of monthly financial allowance

Chandigarh, July 1 (IANS) Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday asked the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann not to dupe the women and said Rs 55,000 should be deposited in the bank accounts of all women to fulfill the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) promise to provide this allowance from day one of forming the government in March 2022. 

In a statement here, the SAD President said that instead of fulfilling the promise made to the women, a section of them had been given Rs 3,000 as a three-month allowance under the direct transfer scheme which was not even the interest on the total money due to them. 

"This amounts to betraying the womenfolk of Punjab who are waiting since the last four-and-a-half years for the release of the entire benefit due to them." 

Asserting that a partial payment is being made to the women in view of the forthcoming Assembly elections, Badal said "this makes it clear that the Chief Minister is more concerned with deriving political benefit from the direct transfers rather than having any genuine concern for the womenfolk of the state. Punjabis will reject this deceit." 

He also condemned the manner in which the Chief Minister was spending crores in advertisements and forcing beneficiaries to attend functions to use them to befool Punjabis. 

"The previous SAD government extended benefits like old-age pension, aata-dal and shagun (for marriage of girls of weaker sections) as a social responsibility. The AAP government is following a pick-and-choose policy to extend benefits for their political motives only," Badal added. 

Chief Minister Mann rolled out the monthly Mukh Mantri Maavan Dheeyan Satkar Yojna for nearly 40 lakh adult women with an outlay of Rs 9,300 crore, fulfilling AAP's last election guarantee announced ahead of the 2022 Assembly elections. 

Launching the scheme from Dhuri town, the Chief Minister announced the direct transfer of three months' Satkar Raashi into the bank accounts of eligible beneficiaries, with every woman above the age of 18 years receiving Rs 3,000 and women from the Scheduled Caste category receiving Rs 4,500 that would help them live with dignity and self-respect.

--IANS

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