© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
After its Lok Sabha election tally was halved and its 58% vote share came down to 46% in a massive reversal, the BJP in Haryana has started making attempts to placate voters and make up the lost ground before the Assembly elections in a few months.
The BJP-led government of Nayab Singh Saini has already made a raft of announcements, from providing 50,000 jobs in the next two months and free 100-sq-yard plots to every family below the poverty line to free bus travel up to 1,000 km with the Haryana Antyodaya Parivar Parivahan Yojana (HAPPY) and approval for unauthorised residential colonies along with adequate infrastructure in each. The government has also admitted to flaws in its flagship portal-based ID scheme Parivar Pehchan Patra for property and family IDs.
With its vote share down and the Congress closing the gap — it went from no seats and 28% vote share to five seats and a 43% vote share — the Haryana government is making new announcements almost every other day, while ministers dispatched across the state and the official machinery pressed into action to redress people’s grievances on a priority basis.
The government started rolling out welfare schemes immediately after the June 4 results. On June 6, Saini removed the age limit cap in Mukhyamantri Kisan Evam Khetihar Mazdoor Jeevan Suraksha Yojana, under which farmers, agriculture labourers, and market yard labourers are eligible for financial assistance of Rs 37,500 to Rs 5 lakh in case of death or disability while operating agricultural machinery. The scheme earlier had an age cap of 65 years.
The following day, Saini relaunched HAPPY cards, enabling free bus travel up to 1,000 km for families with an annual income below Rs 1 lakh. This is expected to benefit approximately 90,000 people. Besides Saini, several of his Cabinet and colleagues in the state Assembly handed out these cards to beneficiaries in their respective constituencies. The same day, the government also released funds for the upgrade of water supply schemes in remote areas such as Bhiwani and Charkhi Dadri. Saini also approved over Rs 40 crore for projects under the state’s Rural Augmentation Programme.
Unemployment was one of the major points the Congress raised against the BJP in the Lok Sabha election campaign. On June 8, Saini announced that his government would provide 50,000 jobs in the next two months. Following this, Chief Secretary T V S N Prasad also asked all government departments, boards and corporations, to submit requisitions for Group C and Group D posts in their departments. That same day, the government also reconstituted its District Public Relations and Grievance committees by giving the ministers charge of these committees and telling them to meet people and periodically hold meetings to redress their grievances.
On June 9, Prasad issued a notification that “Samadhan Shivirs” will be held in each district and sub-division headquarters every working day, from 9 am to 11 am, in which Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents of Police and other top district officials shall sit together to redress people’s grievances, with the exercise monitored by the CMO.
The next day — June 10 — Saini issued possession certificates of 100-square-yard plots each to over 7,500 BPL beneficiary families under the Mukhyamantri Gramin Awas Yojana. He also announced that the state government would give financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh to nearly 12,500 beneficiaries living in areas where vacant plots are not available, enabling them to purchase a plot for themselves elsewhere. The same day, Saini also announced Rs 100 crore-worth renovation of dharamshalas and chaupals for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). He also announced that the backlog of SC vacancies in government jobs shall be filled soon.
The government also announced the commencement of flights from Hisar airport in the coming days, while it carries out surveys to explore other destinations in the state where airports can be built. The government is also likely to raise old-age pensions and announce various other people-friendly measures.
Talking about these slew of announcements, CM Saini said, “The government shall work to simplify its welfare policies and resolve all kinds of problems faced by the common man. It will continue to work in the people’s interest, and remain committed to inclusive development without any disparity.”
The Congress, however, has not been left impressed by the BJP’s moves, terming these “another political gimmick”. Leader of Opposition and former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda said, “The people of Haryana have understood their (BJP’s) fake promises. It was the Congress that had started the scheme of giving free plots to the poor. BJP stopped after it came to power. Now, it has woken up after its crushing defeat in the Lok Sabha polls and started giving plots to the poor. The people are not going to fall into its trap again. They have made up their minds to oust this government in the Assembly polls. The Lok Sabha polls were only a trailer, the BJP is going to be wiped out from the state in the Assembly polls.”
