Baripada: Making a sharp attack on BJD, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi today said women empowerment initiatives were limited to mere sloganeering during of the previous BJD government.
He criticized the previous Naveen Patnaik government for failing to take concrete steps to empower women.
The BJD government was doing trading to gain interest in the name of women empowerment while the BJP government has started providing Rs 5,000 without any interest charge to the women, the Chief Minister said while distributing the second phase of financial assistance to 35 lakh women beneficiaries under the Subhadra Yojana, during a function held at the Chhau ground at Baripada.
According to Shri Majhi, the BJD government had only engaged in money-lending activities under the guise of women empowerment and was more focused on event management than on actual support.
Addressing a large gathering, Shri Majhi said that 35 lakh beneficiaries received their first installment of financial aid under the Subhadra Yojana in this second phase.
To date, he noted, Rs 3,000 crore has been distributed to Subhadra Yojana beneficiaries, including Rs 1,750 crore disbursed on Wednesday alone.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Subhadra Yojana, the largest welfare scheme of the Odisha government, on his birthday on September 17. In the first phase, 25.11 lakh women beneficiaries received financial assistance under the scheme.
The BJP, in its election manifesto, had promised to introduce the Subhadra Yojana to benefit women across the state. Under this scheme, each beneficiary will receive Rs 10,000 per year, paid in two installments, for five years.
Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida, who was present at the function, described the Subhadra Yojana as a historic initiative. She mentioned that over 1.6 crore forms for registration under the scheme have been distributed so far, with 1.5 crore forms already registered.
Shrimati Parida informed that the third phase disbursement of the first instalment will be done very soon.