Bengaluru: Women rush to post office to open accounts after Rahul Gandhi's Rs 1 lakh promise (WATCH)

Following the announcement of the 'Mahalakshmi' scheme promising Rs. 1 lakh per year for women, thousands flocked to Bengaluru's GPO to open India Post Payments Bank accounts, spurred by a WhatsApp rumour about a deadline. Despite clarifications, the rush continued, prompting a token system and increased staff to manage the crowds and ensure fairness.

After Congress leader Rahul Gandhi announced the 'Mahalakshmi' scheme, which promises Rs. 1 lakh per year for women, a large number of women have been flocking to Bengaluru's General Post Office (GPO) to open accounts. The scheme, aimed at providing financial support to women, has sparked a massive response, with women arriving as early as 3 a.m. to open India Post Payments Bank (IPBP) accounts.

For the past two days, the GPO has seen an unprecedented rush of women eager to open their IPBP accounts. The influx was further fueled by a rumour spread on WhatsApp that May 27 was the last day to open an account. This misinformation led to a chaotic situation, with women from different parts of the city converging on the GPO before sunrise. The police were called in to manage the crowd and prevent any pushing and shoving.

Despite the rush, GPO officials clarified that there is no such scheme to deposit Rs. 8,000 monthly into the accounts. A notice was put up outside the office stating that there are no incentives or special payments associated with the account openings. However, even with this clarification, women continued to insist on opening their accounts, believing in the promise of financial aid.

Token system:

To streamline the process, officials introduced a token system for account openings. However, some individuals began obtaining multiple tokens and selling them for a profit. In response, the GPO started issuing tokens based on the last digits of Aadhaar cards to ensure fairness.

Officials emphasized that IPBP accounts can be opened at any post office or online, and post office staff are available to visit beneficiaries' homes for Aadhaar verification. Despite these options, the majority of people preferred to come to the GPO, leading to the deployment of additional staff to manage the surge. On Tuesday alone, more than a thousand accounts were opened.