Empowerment of poor key to development: Haryana CM

PTI Chandigarh: Empowerment of the poor and the underprivileged is the key to development, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said on Sunday and described their uplift as “true social justice”. Saini also said the government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was working with the spirit of “Sabka Saath-Sabka Vikas-Sabka Vishwas-Sabka Prayas”. Welfare and uplift of the poor remains the government’s core commitment, he added.

The chief minister was addressing a gathering in Kaithal on the birth anniversary of Maharaja Shoor Saini as part of the state government’s plan to celebrate the anniversaries of great personalities under the Sant-Mahapurush Vichar Samman and Prasar Yojana, according to official statement. Paying tribute to Maharaja Shoor Saini, the chief minister said the BJP’s double-engine government had been consistently working for the welfare of various sections, aiming to make Haryana “shikshit, swasth, surakshit aur swavalambi (educated, healthy, safe and self-reliant)”. Following the path shown by these great personalities, the state government is taking steps for the welfare of all sections with the spirit of “Haryana Ek, Haryanvi Ek”, Saini said. The chief minister noted that Maharaja Shoor Saini was a valiant and virtuous king, with everyone in his kingdom enjoying equal rights.

The government pledged to provide scholarships to students from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and the Scheduled Caste (SC) communities from the state pursuing medical and engineering education in any government college across India. A portal will be launched in the 2025-26 academic session to grant the scholarships. Students from Haryana studying in any government medical or engineering college in the country can register themselves through this portal, Saini said. Meanwhile, the state government aims to make five lakh women Lakhpati Didis women earning more than Rs 1 lakh annually. So far, 1.5 lakh women in the state have achieved this status.

Under the Drone Didi Scheme, 5,000 women from 500 self-help groups will receive free drone pilot training. So far, 100 women have been trained and drones provided to them free of cost, Saini said. He also took a dig at the Congress, alleging there was regional bias in development and favouritism was prevalent in providing government jobs during its tenure. In the past 10 years, under Modi’s leadership, the BJP overnment eradicated those practices , he claimed.