New Delhi: The Congress has claimed that the last-minute gifts given to women by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will not save the ruling JD(U)-BJP alliance in Bihar. The Congress said that the pro-people social welfare agenda of the India block will prevail in the upcoming elections.
Congress leaders were referring to Prime Minister Modi’s recent transfer of Rs 10-10 thousand to the bank accounts of 75 lakh women in Bihar under a welfare scheme and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday transferred Rs 10-10 thousand to the bank accounts of 21 lakh women under a self-employment scheme.
The Congress described the move by the ruling NDA as a very late step and wanted to know why the state government ignored the voters of Bihar, especially women, in the last decades. The Election Commission on Monday announced the dates for Bihar elections on November 6 and 11.
“Mohammed Javed, a Congress Lok Sabha MP from Bihar, told ETV India, “”The financial support from the Prime Minister came a few days before the Election Commission announced the election dates and the concessions from the Chief Minister came a few hours before the formal announcement of the election.” This shows the frustration of the NDA, which is trying hard to woo women voters in Bihar.
He said that the coalition government in Bihar could have taken steps for the welfare of women in the past decades, but they did nothing. Now they are trying to win the support of the women by transferring money to their bank accounts. Simply put, transferring such money is tantamount to bribing women voters a few days before the election announcement, but this move will not save the NDA, he said.
“Instead, the agenda of pro-people, social justice of the India bloc will dominate in the Bihar elections,”” he said.” The declarations we have made for different sections of society are carefully crafted schemes that have evidence of implementation in Karnataka and before that in Congress-ruled states like Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Employment and education for people, women’s safety and a transparent administration matter.
The NDA has ignored all this in the last decades, he said. The opposition is questioning him on these issues, but there is no answer. The voters of Bihar are sensible and will vote for change this time.
Congress insiders said the announcements made by the NDA for women were to counter the India Bloc’s guarantee of Rs 2,500 per month to all women, which had become popular among women voters. In the last few months, the women’s wing of the Congress visited most of the districts in the state to raise issues related to women and also registered for the welfare scheme. Party insiders said that about 50 lakh forms have been filled so far. According to party insiders, women voters outnumbered men in the last 2020 assembly elections and this trend is likely to continue in 2025 with increasing awareness among women. Apart from women, the opposition has also announced various schemes for the youth, students, farmers, small traders and the elderly.
Congress managers further said that the India Block is all set for the elections in two phases, but said the process could have taken place on the same day. “AICC secretary in-charge of Bihar Sushil Pasi told ETV Bharat, “”We are fully prepared for the elections.” He has decided to hold the election in two phases, but it could have been completed in a day.
The AICC functionary alleged that the concessions given by the Centre and state governments to women voters in Bihar a few days before the announcement of the election schedule indicate coordination between the Election Commission and the NDA. The Bharatiya Janata Party is targeting the NDA and the Election Commission over the revision of the electoral roll in the state, due to which 47 lakh names, including 22.7 lakh women, were removed from the final list.
According to Manoj Kumar, Congress Lok Sabha MP from Bihar, the issue of social security and social welfare will be important in the elections to be held in November, as this election is for complete change. Questioning the concessions being given by the NDA, the MP said why such financial assistance is limited only to women in Bihar and not to other states.
“Manoj Kumar told ETV India, “The Prime Minister is the head of the entire country.” We are not against helping women from Bihar, but why was such assistance not given by the Centre to women from other states? This was done only for the purpose of gaining the support of women voters, while being neglected for years.”
“The India bloc is ready for this challenge.” As per the BJP’s wish, the Election Commission has scheduled polling for two days. But we have no problem with that. People will vote for change this time. The money given to the women is in the form of loans, which will be recovered from them later.
