Ravi S Singh
New Delhi, December 9
Two days after results of the Assembly elections in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and municipal corporation election in Delhi, the Union government mounted an attack on the Opposition parties, saying they are eschewing discussions on social welfare issues relating to the poor.
“The Opposition parties are running away from discussions on ‘Garib Kalyan’ issues because their governments in the past had neglected them.They would not have anything to show on this front,” Union Labour and Employment, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Friday outside Parliament while talking to reporters.
Raising of the issue by Yadav, who is a senior BJP leader, is a straw in the wind indicating the government’s strategy to gun after Opposition parties, should their leaders cause disruptions to proceedings of Parliament during it’s current Winter Session.
The issues relevant to poor and common people should be discussed by the Opposition in Parliament, he said adding that the purpose of Parliament and politics is teleological: “For the good and welfare of the people.”
“Why are they fighting shy of discussions,” asked Yadav, and added that the government has an open mind while urging the Opposition parties to have a healthy temper in the matter and conjoin their efforts with the government to advance the interest of the poor and the marginalised.
Referring to Modi government’s welfare policies and schemes rolled out in the last more than eight years, Yadav said they have been enacted with a meta-goal of systemic changes.
He said the systemic changes, which have made the implementation of the policies possible, are transparency in governance and rationalisation of rules with humane touch to the entire exercise.
“PM Modi’s focus has been on ‘last mile delivery, and delivery of benefits and service to the last man’ with thrust on empowerment,” Yadav said.
Responding to a question, he attributed the BJP’s record-breaking Assembly election results in its favor in Gujarat even after 27 years of its uninterrupted rule to the welfare policies of the BJP government, and direct connection of Modi with people in his home state.
On the debate on the practice of electoral promises of freebies by political parties, Yadav made a distinction between empowerment of people which contributed to generational benefits like providing electricity, infrastructure and other amenities to every village and the people versus mere promises of free electricity. For the latter, one must ensure capacity building for the same too.
Referring to the coming G-20 Summit under the chairmanship of India, he said the labour ministry is giving final touches to the subject of labour. The labour-related issues will be discussed during the global event.
