Ms Mayawati Ji

The poor are always with ye, goes a biblical saying. Which is why it's never too late to launch a people's welfare programme.

Full-page advertisements in national newspapers on Monday highlight the launching of the Uttar Pradesh Mukhya Mantri Garib Arthik Madad Yojana to cover those living below the poverty line but who haven't yet availed of the benefits of other schemes.

The Rs 300 per month to be paid to each individual is better than nothing, especially since the money will be transferred to the savings bank account opened in the beneficiary's name. To ensure doles reach those for whom they are intended, verification and selection of eligible families was, says the advertisement, done in the presence of district officials at open meetings of the concerned gram sabha or urban area.

If the UP CM is described as “the moving spirit behind the uplift of the Sarva Samaj,” that could even act as a deterrent to officials seeking to encash this scheme for their benefit!

If one were to quibble at all, it would have to be about the reference to the UP CM as Ms Mayawati Ji. Hindi pundits might wonder why Mayawati Ji is two words instead of one. Even if Mayawati Ji passes muster, the anglicised Ms in front doesn't quite go with it.

Ms Mayawati Ji just doesn't sound right. For instance, if Maharashtra had a woman CM called Jeejeebhoy, she would either have to be Jeejeebhoyji or Ms Jeejeebhoy. However, getting the language correct is far less important than ensuring that welfare programmes benefit the targeted beneficiaries. That we do not live in an ideal world is painfully obvious by the goings-on in Mumbai's housing sector. Maybe a woman Maharashtra CM can do better. Over to Ms Jeejeebhoy?