Nagpur: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has accused Nagpur-based social activist Anil Wadpalliwar of having strong ties to the Congress party after the latter filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the Ladki Bahin Yojana, a flagship welfare programme of the BJP-led Mahayuti Government.
In an interview with a Marathi news channel and later in a conversation with a local English daily, Fadnavis claimed that Wadpalliwar had previously served as an election agent for prominent Congress leaders, including Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) President Nana Patole, former Maha Vikas Aghadi Minister Sunil Kedar, and Nagpur Congress President and MLA Vikas Thakre.
Fadnavis suggested that the Opposition, having failed in earlier attempts to challenge the welfare scheme in court, was now using Wadpalliwar to move a fresh PIL in the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court. “They are trying to undermine the Ladki Bahin Yojana and other welfare schemes,” he said, labelling the move as an act of hypocrisy.
The Deputy CM stated that the government would engage top attorneys to defend the programme, expressing confidence that the judiciary would not intervene in such policy decisions.
In response to Nana Patole’s denial of Wadpalliwar’s role as his election agent, Fadnavis questioned the purpose of Wadpalliwar’s close association with senior Congress figures. “If he wasn’t connected to the Congress, why was he chosen as an election agent for its top leaders?” Fadnavis asked.
He further claimed that the Opposition was worried about losing the upcoming Assembly polls due to the popularity of the Ladki Bahin Yojana, disclosing that over 1.5 crore women have already benefited from the scheme, with plans to reach another crore beneficiaries soon.
However, Wadpalliwar has denied that his petition is politically motivated. “Despite following Congress ideology, I have filed petitions even when the Congress was in power. This petition has been given a political angle, but it has nothing to do with the Congress party,” Wadpalliwar clarified.
