Recalling how the Assembly elections in Chittapur constituency of Kalaburagi district had turned into a high-voltage battle because of political heavyweights such as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath campaigning for BJP candidate, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge got emotional and thanked the people of the constituency for electing him, though he could not campaign extensively, for his own reasons.
“The BJP fielded a thief against me in Chittapur in the last Assembly elections. Many stalwarts from the BJP, including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, campaigned for their candidate who is known as a rice thief as he smuggled rice meant for distribution among poor people through PDS. On the other hand, I could not campaign intensively for my own reasons. Yet, you elected me by defeating the thief. I owe you. I don’t understand how I can repay you all,” an emotionally charged Kharge told a public meeting at Kollur village in Chittapur taluk on Tuesday, after laying the foundation stone for a road development project.
Reiterating his commitment to the development of his constituency and the welfare of its people, Mr. Kharge promised that he will make all efforts to get as much funds as possible released to the constituency for the purpose.
“Before my government completes its term, I, as a Minister, will bring as much money as possible for the development of the constituency. We are committed to ensuring the development and welfare of our people. Within five months of coming to power, we have implemented four of the five guarantees that we promised during the elections. The BJP people who heavily criticized our guarantees are the frontline beneficiaries of the guarantee schemes. Around 4.8 crore people in the State have benefited from the guarantee schemes. Are all beneficiaries Congress supporters? People, cutting across party lines and irrespective of their ideological affiliations, are reaping the benefits of our guarantee schemes. The Gruha Lakshmi scheme, under which every woman is getting ₹2000 a month, is empowering women economically,” he said.
Shedding some light on the plans of his department, Mr. Kharge said that the government will establish hybrid libraries in every gram panchayat within next two years.
“Apart from the hybrid libraries, we are planning to build community toilets for women in every gram panchayat at a cost of ₹25 lakh each. You, as community members, have to maintain them. For efficient management of gram panchayats, we are implementing the Panchatantra-2 programme to make everything online. To control the lethargic Panchayat Development Officers who often don’t discharge their duties efficiently, we will introduce a biometric attendance system. They will get salary for only those days that they have worked,” Mr. Kharge said.
Congress leaders Mehabub Shaheb, Bhimanna Sali, Shivanand Patil, Aziz Seth, Arvind Chauhan, Nagareddy Kardal and others were present.
