The Congress and the BJP in Goa are at loggerheads over accusations made by the former, that a popular scheme launched by then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to improve sex ratio and female foeticide, was actually driving young, married women to suicide.
The political sparring follows the death of 23-year-old Vanita Gaonkar, from Malcarnem in South Goa last month, a year after her marriage, after her in-laws allegedly harassed her to handover the Rs 1 lakh, which is granted to women in Goa at the time of marriage, under the laali laxmi scheme.
“She was harassed and tortured, by her husband, mother in-law and tortured only because of money she was to avail from laadli laxmi scheme. The scheme is actually a dowry death scheme. She consumed phenyl because of this mental torture,” Congress spokesperson Pratima Coutinho told The Pioneer.
The laadli laxmi yojana is one of the flagship schemes of the BJP-led coalition Government in Goa, which gives Rs 1 lakh to women at the time of marriage.
According to Government statistics tabled in the recent Monsoon Session of the Goa Assembly, the State Government has already disbursed Rs 400 crore among 40,000 women under the laadli laxmi. The scheme was launched by then CM Manohar Parrikar in July 2012.
However, Gaonkar’s case and the laadli laxmi link to her death, made the headlines in the local media and her in-laws were arrested, but Congress now wants the entire scheme scrapped or amended to ensure that in-laws do not poach on young brides blinded by greed for the money availed under the scheme.
“We cannot let our young women succumb to this greed,” Coutinho said.
State BJP women’s cell president Sulakshana however begs to differ, accusing the Congress of being jealous of a popular scheme launched by the BJP, but she also said that her cell would ask the state government to review the scheme.
“The Congress is only jealous of the scheme’s success... like most schemes need review, so does this one. We will request the government to review the scheme and weed out anomalies,” she said.