NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the govt’s scheme to provide Rs 10,000 to 75 lakh women in Bihar, alleging that he is engaging in “vote revdi” alongside “vote chori”. Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said that while PM Modi criticised the Karnataka govt’s Griha Lakshmi scheme, which provides Rs 2,000 per month to 1.3 crore women, the PM is now implementing a similar initiative. In a post on X, Ramesh noted that the Karnataka government had been offering Rs 2,000 monthly to 1.3 crore women under the Griha Lakshmi scheme for the past two years. “The prime minister has been continuously criticizing it,” he claimed. “And just yesterday, the Prime Minister announced an OTP – One Time Payment – for the women of Bihar – that too, just a few days before the implementation of the code of conduct.” “Along with ‘vote chori’, the Prime Minister is now also engaged in distributing vote ‘revri’ (vote doles). This is clearly a desperate step, which the women of Bihar will understand very well,” Ramesh wrote in his post in Hindi. Claiming that the countdown for the Bihar govt has already begun, he added, “Nitish Kumar has now become the past – and when the results come, Prime Minister Modi will also become the past.” PM Modi on Friday virtually launched the Mukhya Mantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana, under which 75 lakh women in poll-bound Bihar received Rs 10,000 each to support self-employment and livelihood activities. Starting with an initial financial support of Rs 10,000, the scheme can provide up to Rs 2 lakh based on the success of the enterprise under the Rs 7,500-crore project, an initiative of the NDA govt in the state aimed at promoting women’s economic empowerment. Assembly elections in Bihar are due later this year.
