Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jul 27 (IANS): The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ally Nationalist Congress Party (SP) President Sharad Pawar has expressed reservations to the MahaYuti government's new scheme 'Ladki Bahin' intended to benefit the poor women of the state, here on Saturday.

"It is shocking that when that state is already burdened under a debt of Rs 7.8 lakh-crore, the MahaYuti has decided to spend Rs 46,000 crore on the 'Ladki Bahin' scheme… how advisable will this be? Is the MahaYuti alliance doing the work of pushing Maharashtra into more debts for its own political interests?" wondered Sharad Pawar.

Interacting with the mediapersons on a wide variety of issues, the NCP (SP) supremo pointed out that the state's coffers are empty and the 'Ladki Bahin' is just intended to sway the people to the ruling (MahaYuti) side ahead of the elections.

He said that even the ordinary people have started questioning how such schemes could be of a 'temporary nature' and sought to know "why this decision was not taken earlier" by the MahaYuti regime.

Sharad Pawar claimed that in the beginning, the people may end up getting one or two instalments of the promised money under 'Ladki Bahin' before the elections are announced and later there could be uncertainties over it.

Earlier, in Mumbai, state NCP (SP) President Jayant Patil questioned "why there was no 'Ladki Bahin' or 'Ladka Bhau' before the Lok Sabha polls in which the MahaYuti allies got a drubbing in the state's 48 LS seats?"

Patil also rubbished the ruling alliance's attempts to corner the Opposition parties by accusing them of creating a 'fake narrative' over the scheme, and said that "once we (MVA) come to power, we shall make it systematic and more beneficial", citing the INDIA bloc's LS guarantees.

Prior to this, the MVA allies Congress' state President Nana F. Patole, Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Sanjay Raut and other senior leaders of the three-party alliance have also raised multiple doubts over the efficacy of the 'Ladki Bahin' scheme hurriedly announced with an eye on the October Assembly elections.