Sangrur, July 2 -- Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday launched the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) flagship "Mawan Dheeyan Satkar Yojana," under which more than 40 lakh women across the state began receiving monthly financial assistance, fulfilling one of the party's key pre-poll promises made ahead of the 2022 Punjab assembly elections. Under the scheme, women from the general category will receive financial assistance of Rs.1,000 a month, while Scheduled Caste (SC) women will get Rs.1,500 per month. At the launch, the government credited three months' assistance in a single instalment, transferring Rs.3,000 and Rs.4,500, respectively, directly into beneficiaries' bank accounts. So far, over 40 lakh women have registered under the scheme. Punjab has an estimated 1.02 crore women aged 18 years and above who are eligible to apply. Mann launched the scheme through a dedicated web portal from his assembly constituency, Dhuri, in Sangrur district. Senior AAP leaders, including Punjab affairs in-charge Manish Sisodia, Punjab unit president and cabinet minister Aman Arora, and the chief minister's wife, Dr Gurpreet Kaur, were present at the event. Calling the scheme 'historic', Mann said the financial assistance may not make women wealthy but would provide them with dignity and self-respect. "Women deserve the highest respect because they are the source of life itself. Strengthening their financial autonomy is essential for improving household welfare, promoting gender equity and enhancing their participation in social and economic decision-making," he said. The chief minister said the government was returning taxpayers' money to the people through the welfare measures. "Today, three months' assistance has been transferred to the bank accounts of women, and it will go a long way in strengthening their empowerment. The state government is working for the people. We have provided free electricity to households, given more than 68,000 government jobs, improved roads, closed toll plazas, saving Rs.70 lakh every day, strengthened quality education and healthcare, built infrastructure, and undertaken several other major initiatives," he said. Mann said the scheme has been launched with meticulous planning to ensure that it continues uninterrupted in the years ahead. "This assistance will provide crucial support to economically weaker families," he said, adding that around 97% of women in Punjab are expected to benefit and the state government has earmarked Rs.9,300 crore in the budget. Addressing the gathering, senior AAP leader and Punjab affairs in-charge Manish Sisodia said the state government has fulfilled all the major guarantees. "This assistance is much more than a direct cash benefit. Today is a red-letter day not only for the women of Punjab but for women across the country, as it showcases a model of governance that truly values and uplifts its citizens. By seamlessly integrating structural reforms in health and education with direct welfare empowerment, the state government has silenced its critics and set a new benchmark for welfare politics in India," Sisodia said. The four-and-a-half-year delay in launching the initiative, with only a few months left before the next assembly elections, has drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties. 'Too little, too late': Warring Chandigarh Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Wednesday termed the launch of the financial assistance scheme "too little, too late", alleging that women had been deprived of the promised benefit for four-and-a-half years. "If the state government is really sincere towards providing cash assistance to women, it should also release the arrears for the entire period," Warring said. He drew comparisons with Congress-ruled states like Telangana and Karnataka, where women were paid monthly cash assistance within months of the formation of the governments. According to him, women in Telangana get Rs.2,500 a month, while beneficiaries in Karnataka receive Rs.2,000. Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon also criticised the timing of the scheme, alleging that the AAP government had delayed it for years and is now rolling it out ahead of the elections. "The government is launching the financial assistance scheme now for political mileage," Dhillon said. There was no immediate reaction from the AAP government to the allegations made by the Congress and the BJP. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal accused the AAP government of reneging on its promise to provide monthly cash aid from the day it assumed office in 2022 and it should have released the entire pending amount instead of making only a partial payment. "Instead of releasing the benefit for the entire four-and-a-half years, the government has made only partial payment ahead of the assembly elections. It appears the chief minister is more concerned about deriving political mileage rather than having any genuine concern for the womenfolk of the state," he said....