New Delhi: The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in the state over the removal of 92 lakh beneficiaries from the state government’s flagship Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, reported Indian Express.Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) (Shiv Sena (UBT)) MP Sanjay Raut termed the scheme as one that was brought in “to buy votes” before the assembly elections.“These 92 lakh beneficiaries were given money. Who is going to recover it? The then chief secretary, finance secretary, the entire cabinet, the secretary of the Women and Child Development Department and everyone who approved these payments should be held responsible. Their assets should be attached and the money recovered,” said Raut.Leader of opposition Vijay Wadettiwar also questioned the timing of the verification exercise following which the names were removed.“If 92 lakh women were ineligible, why were they paid? And if they were eligible then, why are they being removed now?” asked Wadettiwar.Indian Express had earlier reported that more than 92 lakh beneficiaries, constituting around 38% of the scheme’s peak enrolment of 2.43 crore women were removed after the verification exercise.“The government promised Rs 2,100 after elections. That promise remains unfulfilled and now 92 lakh beneficiaries have been removed in the name of eKYC. The government will have to account for every rupee spent under the scheme,” said Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal.The government on its part defended the decision to remove the names, with minister Uday Samant saying that among the beneficiaries who were removed, some were government employees, some belonged to families with incomes above the prescribed ceiling and some men had also received benefits.“No eligible woman has been removed from the scheme,” Samant said.Earlier, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) had flagged concerns and deficiencies in Mukhya Mantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana.The CAG’s report on the state finances for 2024-25 had noted that there was a sharp rise of spending for women’s welfare from Rs 261.78 core in 2023-24 to Rs 33,554.36 crore in 2024-25 especially under the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Behen Yojana.This, the report said, “reflects a major push toward welfare oriented transfers rather than capital formation.”The report had noted that for the implementation of the scheme, funds amounting to Rs 26,200 crore were made available through the supplementary budget. Additionally, Rs 3,490.75 crore was re-appropriated from the ‘Lek Ladki Yojana’. Thus, a total grant of Rs 29,693.09 crore was made available.Against this, the Department incurred an expenditure of Rs 33,237.24 crore, resulting in excess expenditure of Rs 3,541.16 crore, for which the Department did not provide any specific justification, the report said.