Saini announces sop for women, Congress cries foul

Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has said a provision for grant of Rs 2,100 per head to women of the state would be made in the upcoming state budget. "A provision to give Rs 2,100 to the state's women will be made in the budget. They will start getting the said amount from the coming year," Saini said, addressing a public gathering in support of BJP's mayoral candidate Ram Avtar Balmiki here today.

The Congress has taken a strong exception to the statement, alleging that it amounted to violation of the poll code. "It is a clear violation of the Model Code of Conduct and we will write to the State Election Commission for appropriate action," said Congress Rohtak MLA Bharat Bhushan Batra.

Meanwhile, the CM said the government was focusing on empowering women entrepreneurs, self-help groups and 'drone didis'.

"Under the Lakhpati Didi Yojana, the state aims to create 5,000 Lakhpati Didis, with over 1,500 women already having achieved this status," he stated.

Taking a dig at Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Saini said he had been stating that the BJP regime had failed to perform in the first 100 days of its installation, but he was unaware of the ground realities.

"We have given jobs to 25,000 youth on merit. As many as 13 lakh families having an annual income up to 1.80 lakh are getting LPG cylinders for Rs 500. We have started a free dialysis facility and several other welfare schemes," he said.