Shivraj announces multiple schemes in election year, stumps Congress

Bhopal, Feb 13 (IANS) Cornered by a bundle of questions (from the opposition) over his nearly two-decade rule in Madhya Pradesh along with a fear of anti-incumbency ahead of this year's Assembly elections, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan seems to have stumped the opposition with three political masterstrokes - question war, Vikas Yatra and ladli behen (sister) yojna.

A verbal tug-of-war had broken out between Chouhan and former CM and state Congress chief Kamal Nath began in the last week of January, and since then, both the senior politicians have been training their guns on each other regularly.

Chouhan has started posing a series of questions to Kamal Nath over the 'failed' promises of the 15-month Congress government, while the latter is trying to 'expose' the ruling party in a similar fashion.

On February 5, Chouhan launched the �vikas yatra' for the entire MP BJP unit involving both Central and state ministers. All cabinet ministers and in-charge of districts have been carrying out yatras in their respective areas.

Since then, there has been a series of foundation stone laying ceremonies as well as inauguration of ready projects across the state.

"The development journey is continuing in Madhya Pradesh. Many innovations are taking place in different districts. Camps are being held to extend the benefits of government schemes to the beneficiaries. This yatra is great for public service," Chouhan said while briefing the press on Monday.

In the meantime, the Shivraj government announced a big scheme for women in the state ahead of International Women's Day (March 8), saying every woman of the state will be given Rs 1,000 per month under the �Ladli Behen Yojana'.

The beneficiaries will continue to get the benefits of other schemes, Chouhan said.

"I want to empower all sisters economically and socially. The respect for women will increase in the society. If sisters are strong, the family will be strong, so will the society and the state," the Chief Minister had said during the announcement a few days back.

The Madhya Pradesh Congress led by Kamal Nath has also been countering BJP's ongoing �Vikas Yatra', accusing it of misusing public money for political benefits.

There has been a murmur in the political circles, especially among the senior Congress leaders, that the opposition has to find a similar offering or a freebie scheme to counter the BJP in the race for convincing people to get their support during the elections.

A senior Congress leader and former minister accepted that the CM's announcements have created a sense of fear that the BJP may get an edge through these schemes. However, he claimed that the Congress leadership is also in a process to include a similar kind women-centric schemes in its poll manifesto.

"See, they (BJP) are the ruling party and they have all the government resources in their hands. They will definitely use them at this point of time. As the main political opponent, we should think over it and work on it. We are preparing the party's manifesto on similar lines," the Congress leader told IANS.