Raut Seeks Maharashtra Poll Annulment Over ‘Ladki Bahin’ Row

Following revelations that approximately 80 lakh female beneficiaries under the scheme have been deemed ineligible, Raut alleged that this entire episode constitutes an embezzlement of the public exchequer and amounts to vote-buying aimed at securing electoral support. He also claimed that there are a staggering one crore ineligible beneficiaries under the scheme.

“In banks or government departments, a criminal case is registered immediately even if a mere 500 rupees is misappropriated and the individual involved is dismissed from service. Then why should cases of financial fraud not be filed against the then Chief Minister and both Deputy Chief Ministers, who looted the public exchequer by illegally distributing funds to one crore ineligible women in Maharashtra for the sake of electoral gain?” he asked.

The Rajya Sabha MP demanded that the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections should be annulled. “In light of this entire episode, this Assembly election itself ought to be annulled. Consider the manner in which women’s votes were purchased. The act of purchasing votes is one thing, but it has now come to light that you distributed funds to over 80 lakh ineligible women. Hence, cases of financial fraud should be registered against the trio comprising the then Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the two Deputy Chief Ministers. But then again, this is the Modi Yug, it is not even the Kaliyuga,” Raut said.

Alleging that crores of rupees were distributed illegally to win the elections, Raut issued a stern warning that a thorough inquiry must be conducted into this entire matter.

Around 80 lakh women have become ineligible for the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme following an e-KYC deadline. The beneficiary count has dropped from 2.4 crore to nearly 1.7 crore after the e-KYC deadline of April 30, but the disqualifications were also linked to non-compliance with eligibility criteria.