Rs 23 crore earmarked for Rs 1,500 pension to women: Deputy CM

Una, June 15

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri today said that the state government was fulfilling all poll guarantees given by the Congress in a phased manner and the first installment of Rs 1,500 pension for three months to women between 18 and 60 years was being disbursed.

33K applications

• In Una district, 33,000 applications have been received and 7,280 of these have been processed and recommended for the payment of Rs 1,500 pension
• Agnihotri will disburse the first installment of pension to eligible women in Una and at Kangar village in Haroli

Agnihotri, in a press note issued here, said that the government had made a provision of Rs 23 crore to disburse the first installment of Rs 1,500 to 48,000 women in the state and as promised, the pension was being released in all districts. He added, “Though the state is facing a difficult financial situation, for which the Central Government was mainly responsible, the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh cares for its people and will fulfil all promises made to them. The BJP is not even appreciating the Congress government’s efforts to fulfil the poll promises.”

He said that in Una district, 33,000 applications had been received and 7,280 of these had been processed and recommended for the payment of Rs 1,500 pension. He added that he would personally disburse the first installment of pension to the eligible women in Una and at Kangar village in Haroli subdivision. He called upon the women not to get carried away by the BJP’s misinformation campaign and come forward to fill their pension forms.

Agnihotri said that the government could have credited the pension installment to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries before the Lok Sabha elections but the BJP approached the Election Commission to stop its disbursement. He questioned the BJP regarding its 10-year-old promise of crediting Rs 15 lakh to the savings bank accounts of all citizens of the country and bringing back black money of Indians stashed in overseas banks.

He said that the Assembly byelections had given more stability to the government and people had rejected the BJP’s tactics of trying to snatch power through money power. He added that the byelections in three more Assembly seats had been declared and people would again vote for the Congress.

He claimed that the Congress would win all three Assembly byelections and teach a lesson to those who believed in destablising an elected government.