Ahead of the assembly elections, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday announced that the Delhi cabinet has cleared a financial assistance proposal for women over the age of 18. He further announced that the assistance of Rs 1,000, originally announced in March, would be hiked to Rs 2,100 if the AAP wins. 

Arvind Kejriwal noted that the money would not be credited into bank accounts since elections were likely to be announced soon, but said that registrations for the scheme, named Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana, would begin tomorrow.

The former Delhi Chief Minister said that the registration will begin tomorrow, and the registrations will begin for Rs 2,100 and not Rs 1000. He made this announcement at Mahila Samman Yojana event where he was accompanied by Delhi Chief Minister Atishi.

Arvind Kejriwal stated that previously he had promised to give Rs 1000 to every woman, but some women came to him and said that Rs 1,000 would not be sufficient due to inflation. Therefore, Rs 2,100 will be deposited into the accounts of all women, he continued. Furthermore, the AAP national convenor said that the aforesaid proposal was passed in the cabinet meeting chaired by Atishi this morning, following which the scheme has been implemented.

In March 2024, the then Kejriwal-led Delhi government announced Rs 1,000 per month to all women above 18 years in the national capital under the Mukhyamantri Samman Yojna.

Notably, this initiative bore resemblances to Madhya Pradesh’s Ladli Behna Yojana, under which women from lower- and middle-class homes would receive a monthly transfer of Rs 1,000 into their accounts.

In his address today, Arvind Kejriwal said the scheme would prove to be a boon for the Delhi government as it will be blessed by mothers and sisters, benefitting from the monthly funding.

He also added that women build the future of the country, and they consider it their privilege to support them in their work. Along with Delhi’s two crore population, the government overcomes the biggest obstacles, he said, adding no obstacle can prevent them from doing good work for the people of the city.

Lashing out at the BJP, Arvind Kejriwal said that he first announced the scheme in March and hoped that it would be implemented at least by May. However, the BJP conspired and sent him to jail based on a fraud case. He added that since his return from jail, he has worked to implement this scheme with Atishi. 

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in March in connection to the Delhi liquor policy case. The former Chief Minister was released from Tihar Jail on September 13 after the Supreme Court granted him bail. Four days later, he resigned as the Delhi Chief Minister.

The elections to the 70-member Delhi Assembly are expected in January 2025. The AAP has so far released two lists of candidates to contest the election.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Thursday amid conundrum over cabinet portfolios. Almost three weeks after winning a majority in Maharashtra elections, the Mahayuti alliance is yet to decide on cabinet portfolios among the three alliance partners namely BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP.  

The meeting with the Prime Minister comes amid the three parties requesting the intervention of central BJP leaders to address remaining contentious issues. Earlier on Wednesday night, Fadnavis and his deputy Ajit Pawar held a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde chose not to join the trip.

Reports said, Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde, and Ajit Pawar agreed on a division of 22 ministerial berths for the BJP, 11 for Shiv Sena, and 10 for the NCP. Notably, the maximum number of cabinet positions in Maharashtra, including the chief minister, is 43.

Nonetheless, the distribution of berths may still change. As per BJP leaders, if Shiv Sena and NCP request more positions, they will likely be assigned less significant portfolios. The major portfolios, including home and revenue, are expected to remain with the BJP. Reportedly, while Eknath Shinde had pushed for the home department, he has been given urban development, and the finance portfolio will go to the NCP.

The Shiv Sena initially argued that the election victory was achieved under Shinde’s leadership, insisting that he should remain Chief Minister. Nonetheless, the BJP stood firm, pushing for Fadnavis to hold the top position. Eknath Shinde had limited leverage, as the BJP only needed the NCP’s support to secure a majority. Notably, Shinde has always maintained publicly that he would not block government formation and took the oath as Deputy Chief Minister on December 5. 

However, Eknath Shinde’s current absence from the capital has raised questions in political circles, and it remains unclear whether he will join the discussions in Delhi.

Bengaluru techie Atul Subhash’s suicide has sent shockwaves accross the nation. Amid this, details have emerged of his wife’s 2022 police complaint alleging harassment and assault for dowry. 

In her complaint filed on April 24, 2022 in Uttar Pradesh’s Jaunpur, Nikita Singhania alleged that her husband Atul Subhash used to beat her up and started treating the husband-wife relationship like a beast. She mentioned her husband, his parents and brother-in-law as accused. Subsequently, an FIR was lodged under the provision of Dowry Prohibition Act. 

In the 2022 complaint, Nikita alleged that after her marriage, her husband and in-laws demanded Rs 10 lakh as they were not satisfied with what her parents gave them. She further alleged that her in-laws started torturing her physically and mentally for dowry. 

She added that despite sharing her ordeal with her parents, they advised her to listen and keep living with it. Nonetheless, she said that the situation did not improve, and her husband started to threaten and beat her. She claimed that her husband started to beat her after drinking alcohol and started treating the husband-wife relationship with her like a beast. She further asserted that her husband used to transfer her entire salary from her account to his by threatening her. 

Nikita further claimed that repeated harassment by her in-laws led to the deterioration of her father’s health, who died on August 17, 2019, due to a stroke.Nikita Singhania, who is from Jaunpur, got married to Atul Subhash, a Bihar native from 2019. They lived in Bengaluru and used to work there. 

Atul Subhash, who worked for a private firm in Bengaluru, died by suicide on Monday, alleging harassment by his wife and her family members. Subhash left behind a 24-page suicide note detailing emotional distress from marital issues and multiple cases filed against him by his wife.

Following, a case of abetment of suicide has been registered against Nikita and her family members. In the suicide note, Subhash mentioned that Nikita’s claim of her father passing away due to shock after his family demanded a dowry of Rs 10 lakh was false. He also alleged that Nikita’s father died due to a heart-related ailment.