Congress promises Rs 2,500 monthly stipend for Bihar women if Mahagathbandhan wins

A mobile number – 8800023525 – has also been issued by the party in this regard where eligible women can give a missed call for registration

Alka Lamba, chief of All India Mahila Congress, announced on Wednesday that women in Bihar will receive a monthly stipend of Rs 2,500 if the Mahagathbandhan alliance, which includes her party, wins the upcoming state assembly polls.

Lamba made the announcement at a press conference, offering full backing to the 'Mai Behan Maan' scheme, which was visualised a few months ago by her alliance partner Tejashwi Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

"The NDA governments at the Centre as well as in the state are least bothered about the welfare of the people, especially women. But the Congress and the alliance partners of the Mahagathbandhan are concerned about them. If the Mahagathbandhan comes to power in the upcoming elections in Bihar, Rs 2,500 per month will be provided by the state government to women belonging to deprived sections," she said.

"We will implement this scheme immediately after forming the government, just like we did in Telangana, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh," she said.

A mobile number – 8800023525 – has also been issued by the party in this regard where eligible women can give a missed call for registration.

The Congress leader also took to X to share details regarding the scheme and said, “Today, while addressing a press conference at the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee office with the State President @rajeshkrinc ji, made the historic announcement of 'Mai Behin Maan Yojana' for women.”

“Under this scheme, financial assistance of Rs 2500 per month will be given to needy women of every category after the formation of the Mahagathbandhan government. To register for the scheme, women of Bihar can give a missed call on 8800023525,” she wrote.

When asked about a similar scheme already announced by Tejashwi Yadav, Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Ram told PTI, "Let me make it very clear... it's a scheme of the Mahagathbandhan. Workers of all alliance partners will work towards creating awareness among voters about the scheme, which will be implemented after the formation of the government."

"This decision was taken in a recently held meeting of the coordination committee of the Mahagathbandhan for Bihar. This is not a scheme of any particular party," he added.

However, it is true that the scheme was first implemented by the Congress in Karnataka and then in Himachal Pradesh, and a similar scheme was also implemented by the Mahagatbandhan government in Jharkhand, Ram said.