Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Wednesday released Rs 3.27 crore for three-month Samman Nidhi of Rs 4500 each to 7280 women at Haroli of district Una under the Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi Yojana.

During an event at Haroli, he handed out cheques to the beneficiary women.

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“Over 48,000 women aged 18-59 across the state have received the three-month Samman Nidhi installment of Rs 4500 each, with the state government allocating a budget of Rs 23 crore for this initiative,” he said.

The BJP was continuously misleading women about the scheme and were creating obstacles for implementing it, he said.

He said that while the Central Government provides Rs. 6000 per year to farmers, the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh is giving Rs. 18000 per year to all eligible women over 18 years. This ensures that women can live with dignity and manage small expenses independently, he added.

He assured that the state government is committed to providing Rs 1500 per month to eligible women and emphasized that their focus is on public service, not political gains.

Sukhu said that opposition leader Jai Ram Thakur’s prediction of BJP forming a government in Himachal Pradesh on 4 June, 2024 has fizzled out.

Even the people of the state have rejected the MLAs, who lacked integrity, added the Chief Minister.

With three more by-elections approaching, he believes that the voters would also hold accountable the independent MLAs who betrayed their trust and tried to topple the elected government, said Sukhu.

During the tenure of the previous BJP government, corruption was rampant and that their leaders shielded corrupt activities, he alleged, adding that in contrast, the present state government took immediate action against corruption after taking up office.

He noted that the economic condition of the state was poor under the regime of the BJP government, but the present government was working to improve it gradually.

He further said that one of the significant steps taken by the present government was restoring the old pension scheme for approximately 1.36 lakh state Government employees during its first cabinet meeting.

He also highlighted the decline in education quality under the BJP, but assured that the present government has introduced English medium education from the first class and is establishing Rajiv Gandhi Day-Boarding Schools to upgrade the standard of education.

He stated that it was the first time both the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister hailed from the Hamirpur Parliamentary Constituency.