Honorarium-salary hike for madrassa teachers Is this not 'vote jihad' Raut asks Shinde govt

Mumbai, Oct 11 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Friday targeted the Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra and asked whether the decision to hike honorarium and salaries of madrassa teachers was not "vote jihad".
He said implementation of schemes like the Mukhyamantri Ladki Bahin Yojana or hiking the working capital of Maulana Azad Financial Corporation from Rs 700 crore to Rs 1,000 crore were being done keeping electoral arithmetic in mind.
Assembly polls are likely to be held in the state next month. The term of the current assembly ends on November 26.
"Is this (schemes like Ladki Bahin and salary hike of madrassa teachers) not vote jihad? The salaries should increase of those who teach children but they (BJP) would have called it vote jihad had we done it," Raut said.
Congress leader Naseem Khan said the move to hike honorarium and salaries of madrassa teachers was done with an eye on the upcoming polls.
"Why is the BJP not taking action against its leaders who are threatening Muslims," he questioned.
The decision to hike honorarium and salaries as well as the working capital of the Maulana Azad Financial Corporation is not for the upliftment of Muslims but to ensure the BJP does not fare as poorly as it did in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
"However, despite all these (motives), we welcome both decisions. But the countdown of the ruling alliance's defeat in the Maharashtra polls has begun," Khan asserted.
Hitting back, senior state BJP leader Kirit Somaiya said the government has not increased the salaries of Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut whose party resorted to vote jihad in the Lok Sabha polls.
The BJP's Mahayuti government does not differentiate on the lines of religion when it comes to health and education, Somaiya claimed.
Earlier this month, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis blamed vote jihad for the defeat of Mahayuti alliance in the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra.
As per a cabinet decision, the working capital of Maulana Azad Financial Corporation will be hiked from Rs 700 crore to Rs 1,000 crore. The honorarium for madrassa teachers with D.Ed degree will be increased from Rs 6,000 to Rs 16,000, while that of teachers with BA, B.Ed. BSc degrees will be hiked from Rs 8,000 to Rs 18,000.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)