While keeping his word on getting paddy procurement at support price of Rs 2,100 per quintal, Chief Minister Raman Singh on Thursday underlined a set of priorities for his Government with immediate implementation of select schemes from the BJP’s poll manifesto.
“Soon after taking oath of office, I have issued my first letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with a demand to approve support price of Rs 2,100 per quintal for paddy in Chhattisgarh,” Singh said while addressing a jam packed Press conference here.
“I have written to the Prime Minister that the Congress had also promised Rs 2,000 as support price in its poll manifesto. It is hoped that he (Prime Minister) takes the initiative on announcing the paddy support price of Rs 2,100 as demanded in my letter,” Singh said.
The Chief Minister, a per the agenda of the Press conference, also handed over the BJP’s poll manifesto to Chief Secretary Sunil Kumar with a set of priorities for immediate programme implementation.
Singh further maintained, “An order had also been issued for distribution of Rs 300 per quintal as bonus for paddy procured at the support price for its immediate implementation.” The Chief Minister while listing out the remaining promises made in the poll manifesto for their immediate implementation, stated that beginning January 1, rice would be available to the State’s 47 lakh ration card holder beneficiaries at Rs 1 per kg.
On January 26, a total of 400 villages in Chhattisgarh would be converted into ‘Revenue Villages’ as promised in the manifesto, Singh announced. “It had also been decided to provide life and accident cover to 17 lakh families of farm labourers with the implementation of the ‘Atal Bima Yojana’ on December 25 this year which also happens to be the birthday of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee,” he said.
Singh said that the BJP in its poll manifesto had promised Government purchase of forest produce such as Imli, Chiraunji, Mahua seeds, lakh and Kosa cocoons which would be implemented.
“A total of 14 lakh tribal families residing in remote pockets of Chhattisgarh would be benefitted by the initiative.” Another key agenda in the Government’s set of priorities would be the implementation of the Mid Day Meal scheme comprising nutritious food besides distribution of school uniforms through participation of 70,000 women Self Help Groups (SHGs) in the State, he said.
Detailing out the reasons behind BJP’s hat-trick win in the Assembly polls, Singh remarked: “It had made it apparent in this poll that a massive turnout of voters could also be a symbol of a pro-incumbency wave or a symbol of pro-farmer, pro-poor or pro-female schemes.” He said that it is also clear that the people just do not vote in large numbers to express their anger but also to repose their faith in the Government.
“Till the Government is in power, it would be committed to continuously implementing people-oriented schemes in Chhattisgarh. It is very clear that we delivered more than we promised during the past decade in governance,” Singh said. The people of Chhattisgarh have voted for development and now it also appears that BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi would become the Prime Minister of the country after NDA comes to power at the Centre after the lok Sabha polls, Singh said.
Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi had been the prime loser in the polls which is bigger than the defeat of Congress in the polls, the Chief Minister said. To a query on Government’s agenda on tackling insurgency, he said it would be implemented more aggressively now.
Some people commented ‘it’s time to pack up’: Singh
In his characteristic sense of humour, Singh remarked: “This poll also saw heartbeats rising and ebbing on the day of counting of votes. Sometimes crackers were burst there (Congress) party office, sometimes here (BJP) office. Sometimes a Press conference was getting arranged there (Congress office) with enthusiasm among people. I saw people from the electronic media running to the studio and coming back to the venue immediately for the first time in my life.”
“Some people said it time to pack off. This happens, I have no hard feeling for this. It (poll results) was like a 20:20 match for a moment where in the last over nobody knows who would get clean bowled or hit a sixer. I have experienced this kind of unique poll for the first time in my life,” Singh said.