Uttarakhand CM follows MK Stalin, announces free bus rides for girl students ere polls

On Friday, December 17, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced that girl students in the state will be able to travel for free in buses. The assembly elections in Uttarakhand are scheduled for next year. CM Dhami announced this move to make education for girls an 'easy experience' and free travel across the state will aid in that.

"Our girl students are important to us and their education should be an easy experience for them. That is why we have started this service for them," Dhami told ANI.

Uttarakhand CM followed Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin's model for providing free bus services to girl students. Earlier this year, The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, after coming to power, announced free bus travel service for women in Tamil Nadu State Transporation Corporation (TNSTC) buses. The free bus scheme was one of the poll promises in DMK's 400-page manifesto ahead of assembly elections this year. Moreover, On June 3, 2021, the Tamil Nadu government said that differently-abled and transwomen can also avail free bus travel. "In urban regions, the differently-abled persons and transgender women would be allowed to travel free of cost in buses operated by government-run transport corporations and this would be implemented after the lockdown is lifted," the government had said in a release.

CM Pushkar Singh Dhami inaugrates 'Vikas Rath Yatra'

Earlier on Wednesday, December 8, Pushkar Singh Dhami, the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, inaugurated the 'Vikas Rath Yatra' from Dehradun ahead of the 2022 Uttarakhand Assembly elections. The 'Vikas Rath Yatra' aims to create public awareness about the benefits of different government welfare projects and policies established by the federal and state governments.

Furthermore, with the assembly elections approaching, the Uttarakhand government has indicated that the Char Dham Devasthanam Board Management Bill will be repealed, announcing the government's decision to overturn the controversial act. A report examined by a high-level committee set up by the Uttarakhand government was handed to Dhami in the presence of State Assembly Speaker Premchand Aggarwal and cabinet members Subodh Uniyal and Satpal Maharaj. The Chief Minister should remove the ordinance that puts the state government in charge of more than 50 temples, according to the report.

Arvind Kejriwal's promises for the Uttarakhand elections 2022

Meanwhile, Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi Chief Minister and national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), spoke at an election rally in Kashipur, Uttarakhand, on Tuesday, December 14. If AAP wins power in Uttarakhand, he vowed to provide free electricity and waive all unpaid residential power bills, same as he did in other state campaigns. In his speech, he outlined three projects that the AAP will complete if the people elect them to power. He claimed that if his party wins power in Uttarakhand, he will apply the same model that he used in Delhi, where his government provides 200 units of free electricity to every home.

The party's second pledge was that it will be loud about job prospects for young people. He stated that he supplied 10 lakh jobs to people in need in Delhi and that he will do the same in Uttarakhand. He also offered a 5,000-rupee unemployment benefit. Kejriwal further stated that if his party wins power in the state, women aged 18 and above will receive Rs 1,000 per month.

Uttarakhand's budget, according to the AAP chairman, is Rs 55,000 crore, with 20% of that going to corruption. According to the Delhi CM, only 3.5 thousand crores are required to deliver Rs 1,000 to women in the state. If AAP is elected, the party's leader has stated that a free pilgrimage plan similar to that in Delhi will be implemented. In his earlier speech in Haridwar, Kejriwal stated that Hindus will be brought to Ayodhya, Muslims to Ajmer Sharif, and Sikhs to Kartarpur Sahib under the proposal.

With inputs from ANI 

IMAGE: PTI