Mumbai: With just a few days left for civic polls in Maharashtra, the state’s election commission on Monday barred the release of the January installment of the Ladki Behen Yojana, citing the Model Code of Conduct. As many as 29 municipal corporations, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), will go to civic polls on January 15.

Installments was to be released in the coming days

The state government was looking to release the December and January instalments of the scheme in the coming days. The government has not yet issued any statement in this regard. The EC had reportedly received complaints that the beneficiaries were to receive Rs 3,000 as covering instalments as Makar Sankranti gifts.

Congress writes letter to the Election Commission

As per reports, the Congress wrote a letter to the Commission demanding that the Ladki Behen Yojana installment be released after January 14. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar issued a statement that further fuelled the issue.

Pawar had earlier said that he was planning to distribute installments as a gift to beneficiaries on Makar Sankranti. He added that in case the Election Commission objected, the installments would be released on January 16 rather than January 14. Pointing out that it was not against the scheme, the Congress added that it was not opposed to the scheme, but its opponents tried their best to fuel the demand just before civic polls.

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Mahayuti accuses the Opposition of creating obstacles

The Mahayuti government, meanwhile, accused the Opposition of creating obstacles since they were opposed to the scheme's inception. The alliance alleged that the Opposition did not want women to receive financial assistance or even have a stove burning in their homes. The voters of the state would teach lessons to the opposition parties, it added further.