Shadow Correspondent
Jammu, MAY 28:
JKPCC Working President and Congress contesting candidate from Jammu-Reasi Parliamentary seat Raman Bhalla on Tuesday said the various welfare schemes and policies in the country were “not pivoted to the poor”.He said an egalitarian society can be created only if the schemes and policies are oriented towards the poor.He said that “unless we understand the economic and social hierarchies, which mirror each other, and reorient our policies towards the bottom, especially the SCs, STs and other depressed sections, it will not be possible to call us an egalitarian society”.
This was stated by former Minister during impressive gatherings to facilitate booth agents who played crucial role in propagating policies and programmes of party at grass-root level during campaigns at Bari Barhamana, Vijaypur, Ramghar, Panchayat Chak Babral, Panchayat Avtal, Panchayat Chajwal, Chak Ramchan. Prominent among those who accompanied former Minister Yashpal Kundal, District President Sanjeev Sharma Working President Babbl Gupta. Others present on the occasion include SC Cell President Samba Vinod Kumar, Block President Tanveer Singh, Block President Sanjeev Katal, Aamarjeet Singh, Sucha Singh, Som Nath Choudhary, Kuldeep Kumar, Janak Raj, Ramesh Sharma, Mohan Singh Bhatti, Ajay Choudhary, Kuldeep Singh Choudhary, Sat Pal, Mistri Toka, Gurcharan Singh, Surjeet Singh, Pyra Singh, Sarpanch Mani Ram, Gurdeep Singh, Gurmeet Singh, Choudhary Guddu Ram Chand Bhagat, Krishan Chand Bhagat and others. Speaking on the occasion, Bhalla underscored that inclusive growth was possible by building an egalitarian society.He pointed out that the present society was not equal or reasonably equal, fair and just.”Not that it can never be. You can build an egalitarian society. Purely capitalist and rich countries have built egalitarian societies,” he said.He said that egalitarian societies can be built by making healthcare and education universal and free.”Unfortunately, our concept of egalitarian society does not include universal and free healthcare and education. In most western countries, especially European nations, education is free from kindergarten to post graduation. Healthcare is free from a minor illness to major surgeries,” he contended.”So we can build an egalitarian society by making our policies oriented towards the poor.”
Bhalla also cited the example of gas cylinders being provided under the Ujjwala scheme — for providing LPG connections to women of BPL families — and alleged that it was not pivoted to the poor.He claimed that the middle class benefited from it, but not the poor.”This is a classic good example of how our policies are not pivoted to the poor. There are many such examples which can be given,” he claimed.Calling BJP “anti-people”, senior Congress leader said its leaders misleading people in the name of religion to remain in power.”Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had given her jewellery for the country in time of need and Modi says that the Congress people will steal your mangalsutra,” he said and added that such language does not suit the country’s Prime Minister.Modi has started considering himself as God and thinks he would get votes in the name of religion but people will not be misled, he said.
Expressing confidence on victory of alliance candidates, Bhalla said that BJP is “anti-people in general and anti-youth in particular”.He also pointed out that the Modi government reduced import duty on American apples.Sharpening his attack on the Modi government, the senior Congress leader said the BJP-led Centre had no money for the disaster-hit people of country but waived off loans worth Rs 16 lakh crore of rich industrialists. During the various natural calamities, people got to see the difference between the Congress and the BJP when every Congress leader and worker was on the ground while the BJP was seen nowhere, he said.”We work for countrymen, not for power or money and feel that it is our duty,” he added.He dismissed the BJP’s ‘400 paar’ claim as nonsense and said the party will not cross 200 seats in the Lok Sabha polls.He said the BJP’s seats were declining as compared to the last elections while the Congress and the INDIA bloc were making gains.
Bhalla also reiterated the party’s poll promises for the Lok Sabha on farm debt waiver and the legal guarantee on minimum support price of crops, even as he attacked the BJP-led central government over the unemployment issue and the Agnipath scheme.There were 30 lakh vacancies in the central government, all of which will be filled up if the INDIA bloc forms the government, he said.He said the party manifesto is for the youth, farmers, labourers and the weaker sections. He accused the Modi government of playing with national security by “imposing” the Agnipath scheme, and said the military recruitment programme would be scrapped when an INDIA bloc government is formed at the Centre to give justice to the patriotic youth of the country.He also said that the Agnipath scheme is a “national security threat” and it has shrunk the stream of recruitment which can compromise the country’s security for the next decade.
