Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari claims non-Indians received benefits under TMC govt’s ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ scheme

KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday claimed that around 30 lakh beneficiaries of the ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ scheme — a financial assistance programme for women launched by the previous TMC government — were ineligible, alleging that they were either non-Indians or had their names permanently deleted from the voter list.Adhikari also introduced a form for the ‘Annapurna Bhandar’ scheme, announced by the BJP government to provide Rs 3,000 per month to eligible women in the state.Addressing a press conference at the state administrative headquarters, Nabanna, Adhikari claimed that “approximately 30 lakh beneficiaries” were receiving assistance under the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme despite allegedly being ineligible, as their names had been permanently deleted from the voter list or they had neither approached an SIR-linked tribunal nor applied for citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) for inclusion.He further said that applicants under the CAA and those who had appealed before an SIR-linked tribunal following adjudication for inclusion in the voter list would, however, remain eligible for the proposed ‘Annapurna Bhandar’ scheme.Adhikari said the BJP had promised in its manifesto to introduce the ‘Annapurna Bhandar’ scheme as a replacement for the Mamata Banerjee government’s ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ programme.Under the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme, women in the general category received Rs 1,500 per month, while women belonging to the SC/ST category were given Rs 1,700 per month."Our first notion was that the 'Lakshmir Bhandar' list was verified," Adhikari said.The chief minister said the government introduced an application form on Wednesday for prospective beneficiaries, adding that verification would be carried out under the guidance of Women’s Welfare Minister Agnimitra Paul and the supervision of the state’s chief secretary and finance secretary.He also said that since the verification process would take time, existing beneficiaries of the ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ scheme would continue to receive financial assistance under the earlier programme in the meantime.(With agency inputs)