by Editor | May 25, 2021 | Corporate Jobs, Employment, Government Jobs, News, Politics, Private Jobs
By Mohammed Shafeeq,
Hyderabad : From farm loan waiver up to Rs 2 lakh to unemployment allowance and from doubling security pensions to free cows, laptops and bicycles, major political parties in debt-ridden Telangana are promising the moon to the voters.
The main contenders of power have made a whole lot of promises like one lakh jobs in first year, hiking retirement age of government employees from 58 years to 61 years, financial assistance for the marriage of poor girls and grants for women self-help groups.
India’s youngest state may be under a huge burden of public debts but this has not deterred the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), the Congress-led People’s Front and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from promising all sorts of freebies to voters for December 7 elections to the Telangana Assembly.
Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao told the Assembly in March that the state’s debts stood at Rs 1.42 lakh crore. The opposition parties, however, claimed during the poll campaign that this was Rs 2.5 lakh crore.
The TRS, which was already under fire from the opposition for not fulfilling most of the promises made in 2014, was the last party to release its manifesto. KCR released the document at an election rally in Hyderabad on Sunday.
KCR has been claiming that Telangana is number one in the country in terms of welfare. The TRS government claims to be spending a whopping Rs 40,000 crore annually on social welfare pensions and other welfare schemes.
The government is spending Rs 13,000 crore a year on pensions alone but with all the main parties promising to hike the pension amount, it is estimated that the allocation will have to be doubled.
The parties have vied with each other in promising the sops to the farm sector. If TRS promised farm loan waiver up to Rs 1 lakh, both the Congress and BJP promised loan waiver up to Rs 2 lakh.
The ruling party also assured that financial assistance to farmers as input subsidy under ‘Rythu Bandhu’ scheme will be increased from Rs 8,000 per acre per year to Rs 10,000.
The Congress promised Market Intervention Fund of Rs 5,000 crore and minimum guaranteed prices for 17 major crops.
The BJP has promised free bore-well or well or pump set for each farmer. BJP’s promises also include distribution of one lakh cows annually during festivals, free laptops for all students pursuing under-graduate courses and free cycles to all girl-students from class 7 to 10.
In addition to creation of one lakh jobs in the first year, the Congress promised unemployment allowance of Rs 3,000 per month to jobless youth. The TRS assured that every unemployed youth will get a dole of Rs 3,016 per month while the BJP promised unemployed stipend of Rs 3,116.
The Congress promised financial assistance of Rs 1,50,116 for the marriage of poor girls against Rs 100,116 being provided by the TRS government under ‘Kalyan Lakshmi’ scheme. The BJP said each girl will get Rs 1 lakh cash and one tola of gold at the time of marriage.
The Congress said that all Women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) will be given a grant of Rs 1 lakh each. Each SHG will be permitted to get a bank loan of Rs 10 lakh, for which the interest will be paid by the government.
The BJP declared interest free loans of Rs 5 lakh to women SHGs. They will also get free smart phones.
The Congress has pledged free treatment up to Rs 5 Lakh for all diseases under ‘Araogyasri’. A 20-30 bed hospital will be built in each ‘mandal’ (block).
The BJP assured Rs 5 crore health insurance cover for all under Ayushman Bharat Yojna and generic medicines in all mandals.
The TRS promised that double bed-room housing scheme for poor will continue and those who own plots will be provided financial assistance of Rs 5-6 lakh to build the house.
The Congress also promised Rs 5 lakh assistance. The BJP promised houses for all eligible people by 2022 and till then, the government would give Rs 5,000 rent every month.
—IANS
by Editor | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Koriya/Jashpur/Darima (Chhattisgarh) : Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to break his silence on the Rafale “scam” and assured poll-bound Chhattisgarh of completely waiving off farm loans if his party comes to power in the state.
Addressing rallies in the state, Gandhi tore into Modi and the Raman Singh-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regime in the state over a host of issues, particularly corruption and crony capitalism.
Ridiculing Modi for his assertions of being the country’s “chowkidar” (watchman), Gandhi said the entire country knows the “chowkidar has turned into a thief”.
“Modi keeps on making speeches and addresses electing rallies but doesn’t even utter a word on Rafale. The entire country knows that you did the deal to enrich your industrialist crony. The entire nation is now saying ‘chowkidar chor hai’ (watchman is a thief).
“At least now say something about Rafale, tell the people how you stole money from Indian Air Force (IAF) and gave it to your friend,” said Gandhi addressing a rally in Darima in Surguja district.
He charged the ruling BJP with creating two Chhattisgarhs, one of the rich and the other of poor and exploited. He assured that farmers’ loans would be completely waived off within 10 days of his party coming to power in the state.
“Chhattisgarh was created so that it natural resources can be utilised for the welfare of the people but now we have two Chhattisgarhs — one of the rich, of those wearing suit-boot, and the second of the masses — poor, marginalised, farmers and workers.
“We don’t want two Chhattisgarhs, we want justice,” said Gandhi, addressing a rally in the erstwhile princely state of Koriya.
Claiming that Rs 3.5 lakh crore of corporate loans were waived off by the Centre, Gandhi demanded reply from Modi as to why not even a rupee of farm loans was waived off.
“I had asked Modi why he was not writing off loans given to the poor farmers, but he never bothered to reply. So from here I declare that within 10 days of coming to power in the state, we will waive off loans of each and every farmer,” said Gandhi.
He said the waiver of farm loans will be offset by recoveries from fraudsters like Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi who, with the help of Modi government, defrauded banks of billions of rupees.
Sharpening his attack on Modi over demonetisation and the Rafale deal, Gandhi alleged that “thieves, with the help of Modi, laundered their black money into white through demonetisation”.
“Modi now doesn’t talk about corruption because the entire nation knows that the ‘chowkidar’ (watchman) himself is the thief,” said Gandhi, accusing the Prime Minister of “only lying before the masses”.
Gandhi attacked Chief Minister Raman Singh over a Rs 5,000-crore chit-fund scam and a Rs 36,000-crore scam in the public distribution system (PDS).
“In the PDS scam, Rs 36,000 crore was siphoned off. A diary was seized where it was written that the money was given to CM Madam and Dr. Saheb. I want to ask Singh who are these CM Madam and Dr Saheb?”
The Congress leader also alleged that Chief Minister’s son Abhishek has undisclosed offshore accounts as per revelations in the Panama Papers.
Addressing another rally in Jashpur, Gandhi alleged the “Rafale deal was done by Modi to give Rs 30,000 crore to his industrialist crony”.
He also promised setting up food processing units in all the blocks in the state so that farmers could easily sell their produce and get the right price, and their sons and daughters jobs in these factories.
He also flayed the Singh regime for unemployment, saying despite thousands of vacancies in various government departments and institutions, youth were not employed due to corruption.
Gandhi said the difference between the Congress and Modi was that his party always strove to fulfill its promises.
“Unlike Modi, who makes tall promises only never to fulfil them, we make promises knowing we will fulfil them,” he said exuding confidence that his party would come to power in the state.
The second phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly polls in 72 constituencies spread across 19 districts will held on November 20.
The first phase of polling in 18 constituencies across eight Maoist-affected districts was held on November 12. The results will be declared on December 11.
—IANS
