Federalism to poll promises: South India CMs bring up host of local … – South First

Independence Day messages delivered on Tuesday, 15 August, by the chief ministers of the states across South India this year had a strong welfare flavour, with the general elections due in less than a year.

In the case of Telangana, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao dwelt only on development and welfare, steering clear of any attack on the BJP, either directly or indirectly.

The contents of his message were understandable as he has to prepare for the Assembly elections in December itself, which will be a warm-up exercise for him for the Lok Sabha polls along with other states next year.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin wanted education to be brought under the state list from the concurrent list, indicating his belligerent posturing, while his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan expressed concern over ethnic and caste divides that have cast a long shadow on the countrys secular fabric.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, basking in the glory of his partys victory in Mays Assembly elections, dwelt at length on how the five guarantees of his government would render social justice to the people.

Meanwhile, Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy stuck to welfare measures the government was implementing for the well-being of the people.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy took a deep dive into the gram swaraj as postulated by the Father of the Nation and explained how his government was following it in the administration of villages.

Here are the details:

After unfurling the Tricolour at the Golconda Fort in Hyderabad, Telangana Chief Minister and BRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao blamed the rulers of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh for the rundown condition of his state when it was formed in 2014.

He said the state had progressed by leaps and bounds thereafter under the BRS government.

He added that his government had balanced development with welfare to ensure that the people would be free from want to the extent possible.

Now everyone knows that what Telangana implements, the rest of the nation follows, said the chief minister, tracing the transformation of Telangana which he said was in a deplorable state, to a land of milk and honey of sorts.

He said the two important indices that pointed to the growth of a state were per-capita income and per-capita power consumption. On these two counts, the state stood first, he said.

The per-capita income was 3,12,398, while the per-capita power consumption was 2,126 units.

He said the Niti Aayogs poverty index had shown that the poverty in Telangana was on the wane, and that it was only one-third of the national average.

On the occasion, he announced 1,000 crore as the Deevali-Dasara bonus to the employees of the Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) and the commencement of distribution of 1 lakh double-bedroom houses in and around Hyderabad to the poor.

He presented a long list of welfare schemes in implementation in Telangana state, a majority of which concerned the farmers.

After taking over the reins of administration in 2014, the BRS government waived crop loans, he said, adding that it once again took up the waiver of crop loans after it came to power for the second time. In the last nine and a half years, the government waived 37,000 crore crop loans, he noted.

He also spoke about Kaleswaram and other small and medium irrigation projects, meant to increase the scope of agriculture.

The government provided round-the-clock power supply to the farm sector, besides implementing schemes such as Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bheema, he said, adding that this had led to the production of 3 crore tonnes of paddy in the state, which was now competing with Punjab on that front.

The chief minister said despite the financial burden, the RTC staff had been taken on government rolls. Though the government had been financially supporting the corporation by providing 1,500 crore, it has now taken the decision benefits 43,373 employees.

He said very soon a new PRC would be constituted for the state government employees. Till the PRC makes its recommendations, the state would pay the employees an interim relief.

Hoisting the national flag at Fort St George in Chennai on the occasion of the 77th Independence Day, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said that all subjects that had a direct connection to the people especially education should be brought under the Constitutions state list.

Only if education is moved to the state list of the Constitution could qualifying examination methods like the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) be completely scrapped, he said.

Stalin also announced that the Tamil Nadu government would constitute a welfare board to benefit workers attached to service providers such as Ola, Uber, Swiggy, and Zomato, among others.

Stalin also said that his government was committed to ensuring that proper respect was given to the leaders who fought for freedom, and that the monthly pension for freedom fighters and their family members would be increased from 10,000 to 11,000.

The Tamil Nadu government is planning to train 10,000 ex-servicemen to aid them to get employment and about 55,000 vacancies in various government departments would be filled during the ongoing financial year, he said.

In his social media message, Stalin said, As we celebrate Indias journey toward independence, let us reaffirm our commitment to preserving the diverse fabric of our Union. Together, as part of INDIA, we stand strong to safeguard our Constitutions ideals of democracy, unity, and diversity.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the five guarantees of his government that had been introduced were intended to follow the principles of social justice in the accumulation and distribution of wealth.

Addressing people on the occasion of the 77th Independence Day at the Sam Manekshaw Parade Ground in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah pointed out that the people had realised that the prerequisite for development was peace.

The five guarantees, he said, were now in implementation as the gap between the haves and the have-nots had increased due to neo-liberalism.

In India, 10 percent of the people control 70 percent of our resources. The British plundered the country during the colonial era, but now a few capitalists are accumulating wealth and resources. In this situation, can development be possible? Keeping this in mind, the state government has brought in the five guarantees, he said.

The five guarantees were formulated to elevate the socio-economic status of the people, he said, adding that the government had also taken price rise, unemployment, discrimination based on caste and religion, and corruption seriously.

We took the decision to implement these schemes in the first Cabinet meeting and introduced them within three weeks of government formation.

Training his guns at the Centre for non-cooperation in providing an additional 5 kg of rice for the Anna Bhagya scheme, Siddaramaiah said his government decided to pay cash instead of giving grains to each beneficiary every month.

According to him, 1.04 crore families were receiving financial assistance under the Anna Bhagya scheme.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said that his government had reflected the true meaning of gram swaraj.

In his Independence Day address after unfurling the national flag at the Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium in Vijayawada, the chief minister said that the state government had implemented such programmes in the past four years which were seldom done by any other government in the 76-year history of independent India.

He noted that the state witnessed true gram swaraj envisioned by Mahatma Gandhi through village secretariats, ryhtu bharosa kendras (RBK), English medium schools, and village clinics.

Additionally, digital libraries equipped with broadband services have been constructed. This is a great change brought about by no other government in the 76 years of history (independent), said Reddy.

He also said the delivery of services such as birth certificates, caste certificates, pension, ration, and government schemes did not require visiting offices as they were available at the doorstep through the village secretariat and the volunteer system.

The Chief Minister said that 2.31 lakh crore had been credited in 50 months into the bank accounts of people in the form of welfare without the need to bribe anyone.

Most of the funds had been transferred into the bank accounts of women to empower them and ensure that the money was put to the best use, he added.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said as the nation celebrated its 77th Independence Day, instances of caste and ethnic divisions were casting a shadow over the republic and injuring its secular nature.

Vijayan contended, in a Facebook post, that even federal values had been subverted. In such a situation, every citizen ought to renew their pledge to preserve the nations secular character and its federal values, he urged.

After hoisting the national flag at the central stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, he referred to the achievements of the state in various sectors, like Information Technology, setting up new enterprises, infrastructure and welfare, in the past seven years.

Vijayan noted that the state was witnessing financial growth and development since 2016 as its internal production has almost doubled, the per-capita income had increased by around 54 percent, and over 1,000 projects worth around 81,000 crore had been initiated.

The state was also intervening in the welfare sector, as evidenced by the over 4 lakh homes provided under the Life Mission scheme to the homeless.

Vijayan also said his government hoped to eradicate extreme poverty from the state by 2025, and had launched several initiatives for that the first state in the country to do so.

The idea is to turn Kerala into a world-class state similar to the developed and middle-income nations by the time India celebrates the 100th anniversary of its independence, he contended.

Earlier in the day, Vijayan also posted his greetings on the occasion on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

Our freedom movement wasnt just about breaking chains; it was about forging a diverse and inclusive India. On this #IndependenceDay, lets uphold our nations secular and democratic ideals, and ensure these values remain at the core of our nationhood. Happy Independence Day! Vijayan tweeted.

Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy, in his Independence Day message, highlighted the schemes implemented by the government of the Union Territory (UT) to promote the welfare of the poor, the fishermen, students, farmers, and unemployed youth.

He said law and order were maintained well in the UT, and this has resulted in a steep decline in crimes during this year when compared to the scenario seen in the past.

Claiming that his government was implementing various welfare programmes with the support of the people, he said, I seek continued support of the people to frame more schemes and implement them to benefit the marginalised sections.

Rangasamy further said the implementation of the Smart City programme would ensure the development of infrastructure to promote tourism, education, and the welfare of the poor and the have-nots.

The UT government had spent 93.56 percent of the 11,500 crore earmarked under the revised estimate during 2022-2023.

As many as 16 departments had earmarked assistance covering a big chunk of beneficiaries under the direct benefit transfer scheme to promote their well-being.

An integrated complex to house Legislative Assembly would be constructed at a cost of 528 crore in the neighbouring Thattanchavady and a National Law University would also come up at a cost of 483 crore in Kalapet, he added.

(With inputs from South First and PTI)

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Federalism to poll promises: South India CMs bring up host of local ... - South First