Modi, Mamata share stage for poor
Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced three flagship social security schemes, including an insurance cover for less than Re 1 per day, while choosing to launch the ambitious programme from a dais shared by bitter critic and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
While demanding a complete waiver of West Bengal’s Rs 2.74 lakh crore debt burden, Mamata also echoed Modi’s call for the Centre and the states to work together for upliftment of the poor and the development of the country.
Invoking words of Rabindra Nath Tagore and Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Modi said “what Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow” and added that the process of development would be incomplete if it did not reach the poor.
Banerjee, who has been very critical of Modi and BJP which has been working hard to make inroads into West Bengal, also said the downtrodden and the poor people were the backbone of the country.
“We must not forget the poor because it is the government of the people, by the people and for the people,” she said.
At the same time, the two leaders, who shared the dais for the first time since Modi became Prime Minister, did not spare a chance to take jibes at each other.
“Our government had launched the Kanyashri scheme for the uplift of the girl child. For this we have allocated Rs 1000 crore. But the similar central scheme Beti Padhao Beti Bachao has an allocation of only Rs 100 crore,” Banerjee said.
The chief minister said that not all the village panchayats in the state were covered by a bank and demanded that at least one bank branch should be present in each.
To this, Modi said, “This land has the blessings of both Lakhsmi and Saraswati. This land contributed a lot in manufacturing. Now she is saying that there are no bank branches in all villages. What happened in the last 60 years? The chief minister is saying this because she believes that if something can be done, then it will be by me.” The Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana will offer a renewable one-year life cover of Rs 2 lakh to all savings bank account holders in the age group of 18-50 years, covering death due to any reason, for a premium of Rs 330 per annum.
The Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana will offer a renewable one-year accidental death-cum-disability cover of Rs 2 lakh for partial/permanent disability to all savings bank account holders in the age group of 18-70 years for a premium of Rs 12 per annum per subscriber. Atal Pension Yojana will focus on the unorganised sector and provide subscribers a fixed minimum pension of Rs 1,000, Rs 2,000, Rs 3,000, Rs 4,000 or Rs 5,000 per month, starting at the age of 60 years, depending on the contribution option exercised on entering at an age between 18 and 40 years.