During a rally on Thursday, Kantilal Bhuria, former Union Minister and Congress Lok Sabha candidate from Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh, stirred controversy with a peculiar assertion about the ‘Mahalakshmi Yojana’ proposed by the party. Bhuria claimed that the Congress had included the Mahalaxmi Yojana in its ‘Nyaya Patra’ (manifesto letter) for the Lok Sabha elections 2024. According to him, if the Congress forms the government, women from impoverished families will receive Rs 1 lakh annually, and those with two wives will receive Rs 2 lakh under this scheme.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party strongly responded to this statement, urging action from the Election Commission against Kantilal Bhuria (73), the former Union Minister for Tribal Affairs in the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. Bhuria made these remarks while addressing an election rally in Sailana, stating that their manifesto pledges to deposit Rs 1 lakh into the bank accounts of every woman. He also mentioned that both wives of a person with two wives would be eligible for this scheme.

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What did Kantilal Bhuria say?

During the same rally, Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari endorsed Bhuria’s statement, stating that a person with two wives would receive double the financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh. Patwari highlighted that according to the Congress manifesto, women below the poverty line (BPL) would receive Rs 8,500 per month under the Mahalaxmi Yojana until they surpass this category, totaling Rs 1,02,000 annually.

During his speech, Kantilal Bhuria accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of insulting the tribals and of remaining silent regarding an incident where a BJP leader urinated on a tribal person in Sidhi. Bhuria is competing against Anita Chauhan, the wife of Madhya Pradesh Forest Minister Nagar Singh Chauhan, in the Lok Sabha elections. The voting for the Ratlam constituency is scheduled for May 13 during the fourth phase of elections. Meanwhile, MP BJP spokesperson Narendra Saluja posted the clip of Bhuria’s statement on social media platform X, tagging the Election Commission and requesting action.

Kantilal Bhuria won the Ratlam seat in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections but lost to BJP’s Dilip Singh Bhuria in 2014. After Dilip Singh’s death in 2015, Kantilal won the by-election and regained the seat for Congress. However, he lost again in 2019 to BJP’s Guman Singh Damor. Criticism has arisen against Bhuria’s statement promising financial benefits to those with two wives, with the BJP accusing Congress of favoritism toward a specific community. BJP’s state media in-charge Ashish Aggarwal accused Jitu Patwari, Digvijay Singh, and Kantilal Bhuria of insulting the majority Hindu population from the stage.

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