BHOPAL: The then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1980 had travelled to Chhindwara to accompany a 34-year-old Kamal Nath file his first nomination for Lok Sabha polls. At that time she called him her “third son”.
Chief minister Kamal Nath now almost four decades later is invoking Indira’s memory as his party makes a push for Delhi. All the schemes launched by him since he became CM are named after Indira.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan government’s ‘Saral Bijli Yojana’ has been renamed by the Congress as ‘Indira Griha Jyoti Yojana’. Pension for the elderly and widows in BPL category is named ‘Indira Vriddha Pension Yojana’
The CM Nath at a Cabinet meeting on Thursday reportedly said that “Two new schemes, Indira Kisan Jyoti Yojana and Indira Griha Jyoti Yojana will be launched very soon in Madhya Pradesh to benefit farmers by reducing their electricity tariff by half and giving 100 units of power at Rs 100 to unorganised labourers.”
According to the sources, CM Nath government plans to review housing, savings, loan, health and women and child welfare schemes and rename them after Indira Gandhi.
Cooked meals will be provided to the public at Rs 10 per plate under Indira Thali. It was announced in Indore on January 5 and is likely to launch in all district headquarters very soon. The BJP government had a similar scheme called ‘Deendayal Rasoi Yojana’.
The state BJP leader of opposition Gopal Bhargava said: “Changing names will not change the scheme. BJP chose a poor philosopher and common man like Deendayal ji to name schemes, which Congress now wants to rename. Congress’s conservative attitude will not help the old party garner votes.”
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