Govt deceived women by limiting Lado Lakshmi scheme: Hooda

Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda has alleged that the BJP government had deceived lakhs of women across the state by limiting the Lado Lakshmi Yojana and introducing a separate registration process.

Addressing a news conference here on Friday, he said the BJP had promised to provide Rs 2,100 per month to all women of Haryana under the yojana in its manifesto, but later announced that it would limit the scheme to 20 lakh women.

"However, only 1,71,000 women have been registered so far, even though the government has Aadhaar and Family ID data to assess the family income of the beneficiaries. This means the government is again deceiving the public," he stated.

As per NCRB data, Haryana ranked number one in the country in crime, with over 80 gangs operating in the state, he said, adding that the conviction rate was only 30%, reflecting the government's failure to punish the guilty.

"The conviction rate in cases involving women is only 13%. In 2023, 1,772 rape and 131 gangrape cases were reported, representing an average of five rapes per day, while 4,149 kidnapping cases were reported, representing 12 cases per day," he stated.

In response to a query, Hooda claimed that farmers were being exploited in the name of crop procurement in mandis. “There is chaos in the mandis, gate passes are not being issued due to a lack of verification on the portal,” he said.

“Government agencies are refusing to purchase paddy citing moisture or are reducing prices by up to Rs 200. Farmers are receiving a reduced rate of Rs 300-400 per quintal for paddy. The BJP had promised a price of Rs 3,100 per quintal for paddy during the elections,” he stated, demanding a bonus of Rs 200-500 per quintal for paddy, cotton and millet.