Govt’s welfare schemes not pivoted to poor: Congress

Jammu, July 21: Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) Working President Raman Bhalla on Sunday 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.
“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,” Bhalla said while interacting with prominent persons of Jallo Chak, Greater Kailash in Ward 68.
Speaking on the occasion, the former minister said, “Congress will continue to fight anti-people policies of the Centre and LG’s administration in J&K UT, besides defeating the challenges faced on various fronts especially, misleading politics of BJP.”
He said the party is supreme and every worker is bound to further strengthen it at the grassroots level and serve people. “Congress has the legacy of serving and strengthening the people,” he said.
Bhalla expressed confidence that the Congress Party will form the next government in Jammu & Kashmir. He said bureaucratic rule has never been an alternative to a democratically elected government. He claimed all major projects in J&K UT were mostly conceived and launched by the Congress government.
The JKPCC leader said, “The people of Jammu & Kashmir are eagerly waiting for assembly elections to teach a lesson to BJP. People are fed up of the anti-people, anti-poor, anti-trader, anti-employee and anti-farmer policies of BJP government. They will definitely show this party its place in the next elections.”
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. “The 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,” he said.
Sharpening his attack on the Modi government, the senior Congress leader alleged that the BJP-led Centre had no money for the disaster-hit people of the country but waived off loans worth Rs 16 lakh crore to 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 claimed. “Congress is for the youth, farmers, labourers and the weaker sections.”
He accused the BJP-led government of playing with national security by “imposing” the Agneepath scheme. “The Agneepath scheme is a national security threat and has shrunk the stream of recruitment which can compromise the country’s security for the next decade,” he claimed.