Bhopal, Oct. 6 -- "You don't know, Ladli Behna has turned out to be very expensive. How would I know that becoming chief minister would hit me so hard?" This is what Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav told a content creator at the Bundeli Samagam held at Ravindra Bhawan in Bhopal on Sunday, referring to the cost of the state's flagship Ladli Behna scheme for women. Bundeli content creator Binnu Rani from Chhatarpur asked Yadav, "You have done a lot for your jijjis (sisters), but what do you want to do for the binnus (daughters) of your sisters?" The 12-year-old was referring to various schemes for women in the state, including Ladli Behna. Responding in a light-hearted tone, Yadav said, "Binnu, this is a very inside matter. How would I know that becoming chief minister would hit me so hard? But we said, there will be no trouble for our sisters. The journey started with Rs.1,000." "There were a lot of difficulties in the beginning, but now we are giving up to Rs.1,500, don't worry. You are still too young for Ladli Behna. Grow up a little more, then we will give it to you," Yadav added. Reacting to the remarks, Congress spokesperson KK Mishra said: "Does the BJP-led state government introduce schemes without analysing systemic challenges? Now the state government is unwilling to add new names to the beneficiary list, which shows they are running it half-heartedly." The Mukhyamantri Ladli Behna scheme was announced on January 28, 2023, by the then Shivraj Singh Chouhan government and formally launched on March 5, 2023. Initially, eligible women were given Rs.1,000 per month, with the first instalment released in June 2023. The amount has since increased to Rs.1,500 per month. In the 40th instalment released in September 2026, the state government transferred Rs.1,835.09 crore to the accounts of 12.5 million women....