WATCH: Long Queues At Bengaluru Post Office As Women Rush To Open Accounts To Get Rs 8,500 Monthly After INDIA Bloc ‘Victory’

A large number of women stood in queues outside the Bengaluru General Post Office to open an IPPB account, which they believe would ensure that they get Rs 8,500 per month after INDIA bloc comes to power.

Karnataka News: Anticipating a victory for the INDIA bloc in the ongoing Lok Sabha Election 2024, women in Karnataka’s Bengaluru have made a beeline to the otherwise quiet General Post Office in a rush to open India Post Payment Bank accounts and get a monthly stipend of Rs 8,500 into their accounts, if the opposition alliance comes to power at the Centre.

Though the elections are still ongoing, a large number of women, mostly belonging to the minority community, have been queuing up outside the post office for the past few days to open India post accounts in order to get the benefits of the scheme promised by the Congress if INDIA bloc is voted to power.

Videos showed long queues of women, most donning burqas and niqab (face veil), outside the Bengaluru General Post Office from early morning hours in order to open an IPPB account, which they believe would ensure that they get Rs 8,500 per month.

Karnataka: After Congress Prince Rahul Gandhi announced free Rs 1 lakh per year “Taka Tak, TakaTak” Guarantee scheme, women especially from special community have queued up in Bengaluru’s Post office to open India Post Payments Bank(IPBP)account from 3 amhttps://t.co/1VuvI1jTmt pic.twitter.com/9I00aIq7rS

— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) May 29, 2024

Asked about why they are in a hurry to open IPPB accounts, a woman said everyone in her neighbourhood was saying that money would start coming from the day the account is opened, so she too came to open an account.

According to news agency PTI, most of these women came from Shivajinagar, Chamarajpet and surrounding places in the city.

Massive rush for India post accounts

Meanwhile, Chief Post Master of GPO Bengaluru H M Manjesh said people have been coming to the office to open IPPB accounts, believing that the Department of Post would credit Rs 2,000 or Rs 8,500 into their accounts.

“Somebody has spread this rumour. The department will not pay any amount to them. However, this account can be used for any type of online transaction or even Direct Benefit (Transfer) scheme,” Manjesh clarified.

He said the department has already informed the customers about this. “We have displayed some posters also. In spite of that, customers are requesting that we open IPPB accounts for them.”

In order to deal with the massive rush, the post office even opened counters outside the GPO building, he said.

“Earlier we used to open 50 to 60 accounts in a counter. Now we have made separate arrangements. We have brought our postmen for this purpose and regularly we are opening around 500 to 600 accounts, sometimes even 1,000 accounts in a day,” Manjesh said.

Rumors spread by Congress MLAs?

Reports citing sources said the rumors were allegedly spread by some Congress MLAs, following which he women made a beeline for the post office.

The MLAs said that the women will start getting money after June 4 “when the INDIA bloc will come to power”.

The Congress has promised to launch the Mahalakshmi scheme under which Rs 8,500 will be directly credited into the account of women heads of families belonging to Below Poverty Line (BPL) category.

It is similar to the Gruha Lakshmi guarantee scheme started by the Karnataka government in which Rs 2,000 is paid to women heads of BPL families.

(With PTI inputs)