K N Balagopal Criticises UDF Government Over Rollback of Women’s Welfare and Benefit Introduced by LDF Government

Thiruvananthapuram: MLA K N Balagopal criticised the government, saying its actions of stepping back from promises made to the public while also withdrawing benefits already being received are highly objectionable.

Balagopal said that the Chief Minister’s Women’s Safety Financial Assistance Scheme introduced by the previous LDF government was a large-scale welfare programme intended for women between the ages of 35 and 60 in Keralam. Under the scheme, eligible women received ₹1,000 per month, and according to him, nearly 20 lakh women had enrolled.

He further stated that the final budget presented by the LDF government had allocated ₹3,720 crore for implementing the scheme. According to Balagopal, this amount was more than six times the estimated ₹600 crore that the current UDF government would spend on the free travel scheme for women in ordinary KSRTC buses.

Balagopal argued that the women’s assistance programme had clear and transparent eligibility conditions set by the government itself. Applications were accepted by secretaries of local self-government institutions after verifying eligibility criteria.

He also claimed that no major complaints or objections had emerged regarding the scheme and that applications had been approved only after detailed scrutiny.

Criticising recent remarks made by the Chief Minister regarding the scheme after the UDF government came to power, Balagopal said those statements were baseless and misleading. He questioned whether there was an attempt to weaken what he described as one of the country’s largest women-focused welfare initiatives.