Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, on Saturday, took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent announcement of a one-time payment to women in Bihar, calling it a desperate attempt to influence voters. The scheme, announced just before the implementation of the code of conduct, offers a one-time payment to women in Bihar.
“The Prime Minister has been continuously criticizing the Karnataka government’s Griha Lakshmi scheme, which provides Rs 2,000 per month to 1.3 crore women. And just yesterday, he announced an OTP for the women of Bihar. Along with vote theft, now the Prime Minister is engaged in distributing vote bribes,” Jairam Ramesh said in a social media post. “This is clearly a desperate step, which the women of Bihar will understand very well,” he added.
The Congress leader’s remarks come ahead of the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, where the ruling NDA and opposition parties are gearing up for a fierce contest. Jairam Ramesh’s comments highlight the ongoing debate about the role of welfare schemes in electoral politics.
The Bihar assembly elections are scheduled to take place soon, and the Election Commission has been actively engaged in voter registration and revision exercises. The opposition has raised concerns about the electoral process, with some leaders accusing the Commission of bias.
In recent weeks, Jairam Ramesh has been vocal about the Election Commission’s conduct, criticizing its decision to conduct a Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.
“Over the past six months, the Commission’s attitude has consistently been such that it weakens the basic structure of our democracy,” he said.