New Delhi: On December 30, 2023, just weeks before the inauguration ceremony of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple on January 22, 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the humble home of Meera Manjhi, unannounced, for a cup of chai to congratulate her on being the 10th crore recipient of the Ujjwala Yojana. Today, loan sharks are knocking at her door. At the time, Lord Ram had become her leitmotif to foreground Modi as a modern-day deity. Modi had even spoken about how he related to Manjhi’s condition as he was a chaiwala once. The cup in which he had tea still sits amidst the idols in her temple and she worships it.However, nearly three years later, her family is struggling to repay a two-year loan the district administration had granted them under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), also known as Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Yojana.अयोध्या में उज्ज्वला योजना की 10 करोड़वीं लाभार्थी बहन मीरा जी के घर पर उनके परिवार वालों से ‘चाय पे चर्चा’ हुई। इस दौरान यह जानकर मन को बहुत संतोष हुआ कि कैसे सरकारी योजनाओं से पूरे परिवार का जीवन आसान हुआ है। https://t.co/NCTb4yXcaB— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 30, 2023Speaking at a press conference recently, she recalled, “On December 30, 2023, the prime minister had visited our house. He had tea. He saw our poor condition and had promised us that things would change; that our financial difficulties would end.”Meera Manjhi used to earn her living by selling flowers at the ghat, while her husband Suraj Kumar Manjhi was a labourer.“After the PM’s visit, the district magistrate, bank staff and many other officials visited us and asked about our earnings. They promised me a permanent spot to sell flowers and assured my husband to help him build a boat to run ferry service on the river. Three-four months passed and then we went to meet them again. First they pretended to not know us, then contacted some people to arrange a loan for my husband to build a boat,” she said, adding, “We didn’t want any money. We had just asked them to find us work as was promised to us. We didn’t ask for a loan.”The press conference was called on October 28 by Ayodhya leader and state vice president of the Uttar Pradesh Youth Congress, Sharad Shukla. At the conference, Manjhi also alleged that she was charged Rs 5,000 in exchange for being allowed space to sell flowers at the designated site. She allegedly even approached the district magistrate and public representatives to complain about the issue, but to no avail. Ultimately, she had to stop selling flowers, losing a crucial source of income for her family.Even the income from her husband’s boat is irregular due to floods and other circumstances that affect the boat business. Manjhi said that the big cruise and motor boats from Ayodhya to Varanasi have ruined ferrymen’s businesses. Her husband gradually got caught in the debt trap.The PMEGP is a scheme under the Union ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME).According to a report by the BBC Hindi, the first loan draft was for Rs 2,61,250 and the second for Rs 23,750. Suraj Manjhi used this amount to build his boat and was repaying the instalments from his earnings.However, he failed to pay an outstanding amount of Rs 2,04,616, following which his loan was declared a non-performing asset. On July 5, 2026, the bank issued a notice to him, per the report.Shukla criticised the government for pushing the poor family into a cycle of debt. “The family in whose house the prime minister had tea cannot afford to feed themselves today. The family, including three children, is suffering from the burden of loan and getting threats from recovery agents,” the Congress leader said.“This is the sad reality of the ‘Modi model’,” he added.UP Youth Congress state president Sharad Shukla addresses a press conference in Ayodhya on October 28, with Meera Manjhi and her husband, Suraj Kumar Manjhi. Photo: By arrangementThe issue has once again raised questions about what happens after the PR blitzkrieg is over and where the accountability lies. BBC reported that Manjhi’s family had been writing letters to the prime minister and the chief minister for many months, seeking their help.It was only after Manjhi’s press conference, Pawan Pandey, a former minister in the Samajwadi Party government, reportedly gave her Rs 50,000, while BJP’s mayor from Ayodhya, Girish Pati Tripathi, gave them an additional Rs 60,000.Meanwhile, Tripathi has also claimed that the opposition was creating a controversy out of the situation and that Manjhi’s family was being granted benefits from various state and central government schemes.Tripathi told BBC Hindi, “After the prime minister left, their house was built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. She got gas under the Ujjwala Yojana. Under Ayushman Yojana, a health card was arranged for her family’s health care.” He also issued a press note reiterating the benefits given to the family.“Under PM Svanidhi, he received a loan of Rs 25,000 for boat repairs. He also received a loan of Rs 3 lakh, which included a subsidy of Rs 75,000. He was worried about the installment of Rs 2.25 lakh, as he was unable to pay it. The government and administration cannot do anything about loan repayment; only society can do something about it,” the mayor was quoted as saying.