Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis said the government will consider renaming the 'Ladki Bahin' scheme after late Ajit Pawar. The demand was raised by NCP MLC Amol Mitkari, calling Pawar a beloved leader among women across the state
Ajit Pawar. File pic
Maharashtra Chief Minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said his government will consider the demand to rename the Ladki Bahin scheme after Deputy CM and NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who died in a plane crash in Baramati.
A day earlier, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) legislator Amol Mitkari had demanded that the government's flagship Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana for financial assistance to women be renamed after Pawar.
Speaking to the media in Haridwar, CM Fadnavis said, "There are several demands. We will sit together and think how to go about it," as cited by news agency PTI.
Pawar, the NCP chief and Maharashtra Deputy CM, was killed along with four others in a plane crash at Baramati in Pune district on January 28.
Mitkari had said Ajitdada (as Pawar was fondly called) was the favourite brother of women in the state.
"His wrist would be full of rakhis when he travelled across the state during his yatras." The state government would give a tribute to him if it named the scheme the Ajitdadanchi Ladki Bahin scheme (Ajitdada's Ladki Bahin scheme)," he emphasised.
About Ladki Bahin Yojana
The Ladki Bahin scheme, announced by Pawar when he was the state finance minister, was started in July 2024. It provides assistance of Rs 1,500 every month to eligible women in the age group of 21 to 65 through direct bank transfer.
The scheme is believed to have played a crucial role in the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti in the 2024 assembly elections.
On Monday, Maharashtra’s Deputy CM Eknath Shinde had stated that the government will not stop the monthly financial assistance to women under the scheme, as it is helping them immensely, and that the aid will be increased from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100 at the right time.
Sunetra Pawar takes charge of Ajit Pawar's post
Days after Pawar’s untimely demise, his wife Sunetra was sworn in as the deputy CM. She became the first woman to hold the post in the state.
Ajit Pawar had earlier set a record by serving as deputy chief minister six times. On January 31, Sunetra was administered the oath of office by Maharashtra Governor Acharya Devvrat at Lok Bhavan (formerly known as Raj Bhavan) in Mumbai.
(With inputs from PTI)
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