Himachal News: Election Commission Wrote A Letter To The Sukhu Government Asking It To Stop Filling New Forms In Sukh Samman Nidhi.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Maneesh Garg - Photo: diary times
Reported & Written By Kumud Sharma, Diary Times, Shimla, March 22:Â Acting on BJP’s complaint, the Election Commission has sent a letter to the Himachal Pradesh government asking it to stop filling new forms under the Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi Yojana with immediate effect until the model code of conduct is implemented. The Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi Yojana, announced on March 4, promises a monthly assistance of Rs 1,500 to women in the age group of 18 to 59 years. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had announced the Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi Yojana on March 4 to fulfill a poll promise made before the 2022 assembly elections and had said that the Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi Yojana would be funded annually Rs. 800 crore will be spent, which will benefit more than 5 lakh women of Himachal Pradesh.
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Himachal Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Maneesh Garg had said on March 16 that new beneficiaries cannot be added under the Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi Scheme due to the implementation of MCC. Apart from this, the form for getting pension of Rs 1,500 per month cannot be filled because it has the photograph of the Chief Minister.
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Citing instructions issued on January 2, the Election Commission said, “No fresh approval of government schemes should be given or reviewed by ministers and the process of beneficiary-oriented schemes, including ongoing schemes, should be stopped till the completion of the elections.”
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These instructions were highlighted in a letter from the election department to the Social Justice and Empowerment Secretary of Himachal Pradesh, which was later communicated to the Director of Empowerment of SCs, OBCs, Minorities and Disabled. On behalf of the Secretary, the Director was directed to provide consolidated information on the forms received, accepted and pending before the implementation of MCC as desired by the State Chief Electoral Officer.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had filed a complaint with the Election Commission demanding a ban on the monthly assistance scheme. Opposition leader Jai Ram Thakur accused the Congress-run Himachal Pradesh government of putting photographs of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the Chief Minister on the forms to gain political mileage by misleading women, as it had earlier done during the 2022 assembly elections.
On the other hand, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) had come out in support of the Congress. CPM leader and former Shimla Municipal Corporation mayor Sanjay Chauhan told PTI that the scheme was notified before the announcement of elections.
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