Bhubaneswar: Opposition BJD and Congress created a ruckus in the State Legislative Assembly on Monday demanding inclusion of all eligible women under the newly announced Subhadra Yojana of BJP Government.
Due to protest from the Opposition Lawmakers, the House witnessed several adjournments and the last one was till 4 PM. Except paying tributes to the late Ashwini Guru, a former Sambalpur MLA, no other business was conducted in the Assembly during the pre-lunch session.
As soon as the House observed a moment of silence for the deceased member, opposition members entered the well of the House and demanded that all women be included in the scheme.
They accused the BJP government of betraying women by implementing provisions that excluded them from the scheme, particularly criticising the guideline that limits eligibility to women aged 21 to 60.
The Opposition also alleged that the state BJP government later added economic criteria to further exclude women from the scheme.
Despite Speaker Surama Padhy’s requests for silence and cooperation, stating that an adjournment motion had been accepted and a discussion on Subhadra Yojana would take place, the opposition continued their protest.
Due to the din, Shrimati Padhy adjourned the House several times – first until 11.30 AM, then until 12.05 PM, and again until 1.05 PM. When the House reconvened, the disruptions persisted, leading the Speaker to adjourn the proceedings until 4 PM.
Speaking to media persons outside the House, BJD Chief Whip Pramila Mallick accused the BJP government of going back on its words to give every woman a cash voucher of Rs 50,000.
“The party lied and cheated women of the state to come to power. How will a woman benefit with two instalments of Rs 5,000 every year for over five years?” she asked.
She also questioned the SOP prepared to exclude women from the scheme. Why only the women from the age group of 21 to 60 will be covered under the scheme? What 18 to 21 and above 60 years will do?, asked the BJD leader.
“The government should accept that it was only an election promise to gain votes. The BJD Government had given interest free loans to women and other financial assistance. But those have been withdrawn. It was a false promise to deceive the women of the State and they will give a befitting reply,” she added.
The BJD lawmaker demanded that the BJP should give Rs 50000 vouchers to each woman.
Similarly, Barabati-Cuttack MLA Sofia Firdous said that the BJP Government should do away with the age limit fixed for the scheme.
“Women in the 60-80 years age group are the most hassled since they are often abandoned by their family members. Some women also take a plunge into business in the later half of their life. We have also demanded inclusion of women who are getting Rs 1,500 per month from any other government scheme,” she said.
All women should be treated equally and need to be included under the Subhadra scheme, she said.
However, BJP leader Babu Singh said that it is unfortunate that the Opposition members have disturbed the House proceedings including important Question Hour even though the Speaker has accepted their adjournment notice on the Subhadra scheme.
If the opposition members have anything to say, they should have participated in the adjournment discussion and raised their issues during the debate, he said.