Madhya Pradesh Police on Wednesday registered an FIR against Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut for allegedly making misleading remarks over the state government's flagship Ladli Behna Yojana, an official said. The case was registered by the Bhopal crime branch after a complaint was lodged by BJP's Mahila Morcha district unit president Vandana Jachak and its vice president Sushma Chouhan, Deputy Commissioner of Police Akhil Patel told PTI.
Notably Sanjay Raut has been booked under sections 353 (2) (circulating statements containing false information) and 356 (2) (Defamation) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).
The complainants in the FIR accused Sanjay Raut of deliberately making a misleading statement that the Ladli Behna Yojana had been shut.
Earlier, a group of women from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Mahila Morcha wing gathered at the Crime Branch office in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, on Wednesday, demanding an FIR against Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut for allegedly making false statements about the Ladli Behna Yojana.
The group submitted a memorandum to Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP, Crime Branch), Mukhtar Qureshi, calling for strict action against Raut.
"We have come to the Crime Branch in Bhopal to file an FIR against Sanjay Raut, a Congress sympathiser, who falsely claimed that the Ladli Behna Yojana has been stopped in Madhya Pradesh. His statement exposes his Congress-oriented mindset. Every woman in the state has received money in their accounts under the Ladli Behna Yojana," said Sushma Chauhan, District Vice President of BJP's Mahila Morcha, Bhopal.
"The scheme is still operational and will continue. The Madhya Pradesh government is addressing the needs of women, and each beneficiary is receiving Rs 1,250 in their bank accounts every month. We demand that an FIR be lodged against Raut and that strict action is taken," she added.
CM Yadav reiterated that the funds have been consistently deposited into the beneficiaries' accounts since the scheme was implemented.
Recently, Sanjay Raut claimed that the Ladli Behna Yojana had failed in Madhya Pradesh and that the state's economy had collapsed.
"The Ladli Behna Yojana has not succeeded anywhere in the country. It is just a political ploy. The scheme has not worked in Madhya Pradesh, and the state's economy has collapsed. The Maharashtra government is taking on massive debt. The Ladli Behna Yojana will run for a month and then be discontinued," Raut said.
