MVA guarantees Rs 3,000 and free bus travel for women, caste census

Mumbai | Seeking to outdo the ruling coalition, the Opposition's Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance on Wednesday promised Rs 3,000 per month and free travel on state transport buses for women in Maharashtra.

Under the Krishi Sammruddhi Yojana, farmers will get loan waiver up to Rs 3 lakh and Rs 50,000 as an incentive for regular repayment of crop loans, the Shiv Sena (UBT)-NCP(SP)-Congress alliance announced ahead of the November 20 assembly elections.

Allowance of Rs 4,000 per month for unemployed youth, health insurance up to Rs 25 lakh and free medicines were the other "guarantees" announced at a gathering addressed by top MVA leaders at the BKC ground here.

The BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP government in Maharashtra currently pays Rs 1,500 per month to eligible women under its `Ladki Bahin' scheme and has promised to increase the amount to Rs 2,100.

The MVA also promised to conduct a caste census in the state if elected to power, and remove the 50 percent cap on reservations if elected to power at the Centre.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on this occasion that the present politics in the country is a fight between the ideologies of the RSS/BJP and Opposition's INDIA grouping.

"The BJP doesn't say publicly that it wants to finish off the Constitution, but it is working discreetly to weaken it," he claimed.

While appointing vice chancellors of universities across the country, the "only qualification is membership of the RSS," Gandhi said.

He also accused the BJP of misusing the Election Commission, CBI, Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax department to topple governments.

Land worth Rs 1 lakh crore in Dharavi in Mumbai -- where the Adani group has won the contract to redevelop the slum area -- is being snatched away from local people, Gandhi alleged.

Projects meant for Maharashtra with the potential to create 5 lakh jobs were taken to other states, he claimed.

"In Maharashtra, Rs 90,000 are taken away from each family and given to industrialists. Then they give Rs 1,500 to women. Their intention is not good. People did not benefit from demonetization, GST. Big industrialists cannot provide jobs. It is done by small and medium businesses which have been destroyed," the Congress leader said.

If the MVA came to power, women in Maharashtra will get Rs 3,000 per month under the "Mahalakshmi scheme" and free bus travel, he said.

Justifying his demand for caste census, Gandhi said Dalits constitute 15 per cent of population and tribals eight per cent, but the exact numbers of backward classes are not known.

"Caste census will be done in Maharashtra. When INDIA alliance forms government in Delhi, the 50 per cent barrier on reservations will be demolished... Constitution is not just a book but ideology of our national icons, voice of the people. (Prime minister) Modi and RSS want to finish this off," Rahul Gandhi said.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said the legacy of iconic reformers like Dr B R Ambedkar, Jyotirao Phule an Shahu Maharaj needs to be protected.

"PM Narendra Modi's job is only to inaugurate projects and not do any quality work," Kharge said.

The MVA government will provide Rs 25 lakh health insurance and free medicines, he said, without giving details.

Don't allow a Punjab-like situation in Maharashtra, Kharge said, claiming that drugs are being brought to Maharashtra from the ports controlled by an industrial group in Gujarat.

PM Modi has fulfilled the guarantees only for Ambani and Adani, he said.

NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar said the elections would be a critical choice for Maharashtra's progress.

He highlighted the state's economic decline under the BJP-led government, noting that Maharashtra, once the leader in per capita income, has now slipped to the sixth place.

Pawar also expressed concern over rising crime against women, claiming that 40,000 women are missing across the state.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is the symbol of Maharashtra's pride, but there was corruption in the construction of his statue too, he said, referring to the recent collapse of Shivaji statue on a sea fort in Sindhudurg district.

The iconic statue of Shivaji Maharaj at the Gateway of India in Mumbai has withstood years of harsh sea winds, he pointed out.

The MVA will bring in "Krishi Samruddhi Yojana" with a farm loan waiver up to Rs 3 lakh and incentive of Rs 50,000 for regular repayments, Pawar announced.

It will restore farmers' dignity while addressing the distress that has driven many farmers to suicide under the current administration, he said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray, while announcing Rs 4,000 allowance for the unemployed youth, said people were being taxed even for breathing.

The BJP wanted to give not just Dharavi but the entire Mumbai to Adani, he alleged, vowing to scrap all the tenders "against the interests of the people of Dharavi" and ensure that local residents and businesses stay in Dharavi only.

"I have already said the MVA will construct temples of Shivaji Maharaj in all districts and also in Surat (in Gujarat). Devendra Fadnavis dared us to construct a temple in (Muslim-dominated) Mumbra. He should know there already exists statues of Shivaji Maharaj, Jijamata and Sant Tukaram at the entrance of Mumbra," Thackeray said.

Why can not Fadnavis himself have a Shivaji temple built in Mumbra which lies in Thane district, the home turf of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, he said.