NEW DELHI: The Nitish Kumar-led NDA government in Bihar on Friday unleashed the “Brahmastra” of modern-day electoral politics – DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) – as Prime Minister Narendra Modi transferred Rs 10,000 each directly to the bank accounts of 75 lakh women in the state.The Rs 7,500-crore “Mukhya Mantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana”, an initiative of the Bihar government, is aimed at promoting women’s empowerment through self-employment and livelihood opportunities. The Prime Minister launched the scheme virtually from Delhi, with chief minister Nitish Kumar, his deputy Samrat Choudhary, and several Union and state ministers joining it through video conference from Patna. In his speech, PM Modi launched a broadside against the opposition and urged women voters to ensure that RJD and its allies never returned to power in the state. “Women of Bihar suffered a lot under the RJD rule… There were no roads, law and order was pathetic… but now women feel safe and secure under the Nitish Kumar government as the rule of law prevails. Hence, they must ensure that RJD and its allies never return to power,” Modi said.”When the RJD was in power in Bihar, women suffered immensely due to the chaos and corruption… roads were broken and dilapidated, there was no trace of any bridge or culvert. Floods caused so much trouble… pregnant women could not reach hospitals on time, and did not get timely treatment. Our government worked day and night to bring you out of these conditions,” the PM added.The DBT schemes have, in the recent times, played a key role in helping parties win elections in states like Delhi, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal in recent times. In Haryana, the Lado Laxmi Yojna provides financial incentives for the education of girl children, while Delhi’s Mahila Samridhi Yojna extends monetary support to women from economically weaker sections. Jharkhand’s Maiya Samman Yojna offers assistance to mothers for health and welfare needs, and Madhya Pradesh’s Ladli Behna Yojna ensures monthly cash transfers to eligible women for household support. Maharashtra’s Ladki Bahin Yojana aims at empowering girls through direct financial aid, whereas West Bengal’s Lakshmir Bhandar Scheme gives basic income support to women in all eligible households. Chhattisgarh’s Mahatari Vandana Yojana provides allowances to women to strengthen their financial independence.In Bihar, this election-eve scheme is likely to give a huge boost to the NDA given the fact that Nitish Kumar already enjoys considerable support among the women voters in the state. Nitish Kumar has in the last two decades launched several women-centric schemes starting from his much successful “bicycle and uniform scheme” for school girls. In fact, his decision to impose prohibition in the state was also widely appreciated by women, especially in the rural areas. Little wonder, the opposition has been quick to call the new scheme a bribe to the voters of the state. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra cautioned voters not to be swayed by these election doles. Referring to the disbursement of Rs 7,500 crore, the Congress leader said, “Now that elections are round the corner, Rs 10,000 is being offered by the government. But, take note, they are not promising that the dole will continue every month.””Women have the capacity to sense people’s true intentions (neeyat). They make use of this faculty while looking for a match for their daughters. You must, similarly, realise the true intentions of Modi, Shah and Nitish,” Vadra said.However, this attack is unlikely to hold as the Congress has also used welfare schemes to win elections in states like Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh. It will be interesting to see how this DBT scheme plays out in the run up to the assembly elections. Go to Source
