Supriya Sule criticises Maharashtra govt over rise in crime, alleges Rs 4,900 cr scam in Ladki Bahin Yojana
NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule on Saturday slammed the BJP-led Mahayuti government for failing to address the rising crime rate in Maharashtra, accusing it of being a mute spectator as miscreants had no fear of the law.Speaking to reporters, the Baramati MP claimed that a Rs 4,900 crore scam had taken place in the Majhi Ladki Bahin Yogana, the government's flagship scheme that provides a monthly assistance of Rs 1,500 to women.She said parts of the state, including Pune and Beed districts, have witnessed a steady surge in crimes, while the government remains a mute spectator."People have lost faith in the system. There is no fear of the law. Who is backing these criminals? Instead of looking into these questions, the government chooses to stay silent," she said.
Sule criticised the delay in the formation of a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the 2022 murder of Parli-based businessman Mahadev Munde.
"Only after Munde's wife, Dnyaneshwari, attempted self-immolation and met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, did the government act. We demand a fair and transparent probe by the SIT," she said.Sule also raised concerns about the recent communal unrest at Yavat in Daund tehsil, where groups of persons, angered by a social media post, vandalised and set ablaze properties."This is a sensitive region. Political leaders and outsiders coming in and inciting unrest is unacceptable. I urge the chief minister and deputy chief ministers to control their people," she said.
Sule urged Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, also the guardian minister of Pune, to ensure peace and communal harmony in Daund. "We have deep roots in Daund. Let's not allow outsiders to disturb its social fabric," she said.Maharashtra has become an example of how power and money can derail governance, she claimed.
"There is a Rs 4,900-crore scam in the Ladki Bahin scheme. Farmers are committing suicide, and yet the government is focused on self-promotion," she alleged. Maharashtra Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare recently admitted that nearly 26.34 lakh ineligible persons, including men, were availing benefits of the Ladki Bahin scheme.On Fadnavis's recent remarks about rising hooliganism in Pune, Sule said, "If you acknowledge there's a law and order issue, what action have you taken? Who is protecting these contractors and gangsters?"
She also flagged irregularities in the Election Commission's handling of voter rolls in Bihar, demanding a detailed discussion in the Parliament on electoral transparency and accountability.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
11 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Delhi govt spent beyond means under AAP: CAG report flags fiscal deficit, subsidies
Delhi spent beyond its means under the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, according to a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report tabled on Monday in the Assembly by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta as the Monsoon session commenced. The Capital went from a fiscal surplus of Rs 4,566 crore in 2022-23 to a fiscal deficit of Rs 3,934 crore in 2023-24, as per the report titled 'State Finances for the Year 2023-24'. A fiscal deficit happens when the government spends more money than it earns. Even as fiscal deficits are common across the world, the city went from a surplus to a deficit, the data shows. 'The continuous mismatch between receipts and expenditure indicated a rising fiscal stress,' the report underlined. The report also pointed out 'an increasing trend of subsidies, which increased from Rs 3,593 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 4,840 crore in 2023-24'. Power subsidies constituted the lion's share, costing close to Rs. 3,249 crore to the government exchequer, constituting 70.39% of the total subsidies, according to the data shared. Under the previous AAP government, consumers who used less than 200 units in a month did not have to pay for electricity consumption. Those who used up to 400 units got a subsidy of 50%, of up to Rs 800, in their electricity bills. Meanwhile, the CAG report also pointed out that the expenditure on free travel for women in public buses went up from Rs 115 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 482 crore in 2023-24. The subsidy on water saw an expenditure of Rs 463 crore in 2023-24. Even as the BJP leaders had earlier termed these subsidies as freebies or 'revdis', all the schemes continued to run after the party came to power. As per the CAG report, between 2019-20 and 2023-24, the capital expenditure fell short of the capital budget. The capital expenditure — broadly defined as expenditure incurred by the government to create long-term assets like roads or constructing new buildings — also decreased by 15% in 2023-24 as compared to the previous year. The decrease was sharp under important heads such as Medical and Public Health (49.87%), Education, Sports, Art & Culture (42.19%), Public Works (39.70%) and Urban Development (36.36%). Revenue expenditure made up a significant portion of the money spent by the government, constituting up to 83%. Revenue expenditure, which refers to the government's spending on its regular operations like salaries, subsidies, interest payments, and maintenance of services, is necessary for daily expenditure but doesn't create new assets or infrastructure. The report points out that the revenue surplus of the city also saw a dramatic fall — from Rs 14,457 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 6,462 the next year. Devansh Mittal is a trainee correspondent with The Indian Express. He studied political science at Ashoka University. He can be reached at ... Read More
Indian Express
11 minutes ago
- Indian Express
1 in 4 construction workers registered with govt in Delhi may be only on paper: CAG report
Nearly one out of four construction workers registered with the Delhi government's welfare board may exist only on paper, a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, tabled in the Delhi Assembly on the first day of the monsoon session on Monday, indicated. The report said that despite claims of 6.96 lakh registered construction workers, only 1.98 lakh had complete records, with thousands of duplicate entries or those with faulty images. The audit report also stated that the government failed to ensure mandatory registration of establishments, utilisation of welfare funds, and inspections. 'Duplicate images, images with no faces, and multiple registrations of the same face indicate several loopholes in the registration process. Since a robust computer algorithm would require exactly one face in each image, this indicates failure of the IT system to detect such images during registration,' it said. The report, Welfare of Building and Other Construction Workers, for the year ending March 31, 2023, was tabled by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. According to the report, the Board of Construction Workers (BOCW) could provide a complete database of only 1.98 lakh out of 6.96 lakh workers stated to be registered with it. Of the 1.98 lakh beneficiaries, for whom images were made available for the audit, 1.19 lakh beneficiaries were linked with 2.38 lakh images — more than one image for an individual beneficiary. The report also observed that in the South and Northwest districts, 97 private establishments that deposited cess between April 2019 and March 2023 were not registered. 'Similarly, 25 establishments involved in construction, as per information available on the Delhi Fire Services website, were also not found registered,' stated the report. 'It clearly shows a lack of proactive action on the part of the Board to use various sources of information to identify and register eligible establishments,' it said. The report also said that Delhi lags behind the rest of the country in terms of renewal of registrations — 7.3% against the all-India rate of 74%. The report further pointed out that the previous government spent only 9.53% to 11.33% of its total funds on welfare schemes, except in 2021-22 when extra payments were made to help workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Between 2019-20 and 2022-23, benefits were given under only 12 out of 17 approved schemes. No money was spent on five schemes, including support for miscarriage, advance for purchase or construction of a house, and loans or grants to buy work tools or insurance, the report indicated. The report also showed that the board released Rs 46.08 crore to the Directorate of Education in March 2022 to help 58,998 children of construction workers with their education for the years 2018-19 and 2019-20.
Hindustan Times
11 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Ludhiana: Jakhar joins BJP protest against mayor, demands audit of funds
The ongoing protest by BJP councillors against mayor Inderjit Kaur entered its fourth day on Wednesday, with BJP state president Sunil Jakhar lending his support by joining the demonstration outside the Municipal Corporation Zone D office. Jakhar slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for allegedly suppressing democratic voices and demanded immediate withdrawal of the FIR lodged against five BJP councillors. All the senior leadership from the district was present during the protest and raised slogans against the mayor and AAP government. BJP state president Sunil Jakhar sitting on protest along with local party leaders at MC Zone D office in Ludhiana on Monday. (Gurpreet Singh/HT) Addressing the protesting councillors and supporters, Jakhar said, 'The mayor and the AAP-led administration must stop misusing power. Lodging an FIR against elected representatives who were raising public issues is an attack on democracy. If the FIR is not revoked, BJP will intensify its protests and gather all MC zonal offices across Ludhiana in the coming days.' Jakhar also questioned the utilisation of funds under the Smart City Project, stating that over ₹900 crore has been received from the Centre, but the on-ground progress is negligible. He demanded a third-party audit of all the projects undertaken under the scheme. 'We want a complete audit report to be made public. The people of Ludhiana have the right to know where this money has gone,' he added. Jakhar also pointed out the recent arrest of the superintendent engineer by the Vigilance Bureau under the charges of corruption regarding the development project of the city. Senior BJP leader and advocate Bikram Singh Sidhu said, 'MC is miserably failed to maintain the city as roads are in deplorable condition, potable water is still distant dream, solid waste management is not maintained, sewerage system is also failed and MC is becoming a house of corruption and due to which we are requesting the union government of India through urban development ministry to constitute the special team to conduct a proper audit of smart funds.' 'The mayor has registered a false FIR and BJP workers will continue an indefinite strike against the mayor until the case will be revoked,' he added. The protest began after a confrontation took place between BJP councillors and the mayor during a meeting last week. The BJP leaders alleged that the Mayor misbehaved with them when they tried to raise civic issues. The Municipal Corporation later filed an FIR against five BJP councillors and 20 others, which further escalated the tension. The protest had seen participation from councillors and leaders of other parties, including the Shiromani Akali Dal and Congress in the past days, who have expressed concern over the growing intolerance in local governance.
