Rajasthan CM Gehlot pitches for social security law

Udaipur (Rajasthan) [India], February 18 (ANI): Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the enactment of social security legislation so as to provide the same level of pension to widows and old people across the country on the lines of MGNREGA.
Speaking to media persons on the sidelines of the event in Pratapgarh, the Chief Minister said that the Budget announcement by his government is the message that when there is a high cost of living, the government should help the people with schemes.
"Our budget itself gives a big message that if there is inflation and unemployment, then what scheme should the government bring in so that people can get relief from inflation and unemployment. This is what I can do whether it is a matter of employment or it's a matter of inflation," he said.
Gehlot further said that every family will get some benefit from the announcement of the budget whether it is a matter of gas cylinders, or it is a matter of health services.
He said that the medical facility is being made free, insurance is being given and many more benefits.
Notably, the Gehlot government has increased from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 25 lakh annually per family for medical coverage under the Chiranjeevi Health Scheme.
"Rs 25 lakh insurance is not available in any corner of the world, which we have done. The medical facility is being made free, insurance is being given and more. Every single announcement we made in our budget was done considering social security because, after the COVID-19 pandemic, people were suffering from pay-cut and layoffs," said Gehlot.
Rajasthan CM said that he has also demanded PM Modi to propose laws for same-level pension to widows and old people.
"The way Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi bought laws like the Right to Information, Right to Education, MGNREGA, and Food Security Act in the parliament. In the same way, Narendra Modi should bring a law. In social security, old people and widow women get a pension. But some state gives less amount and some give more. We have also now raised the amount. We have got an extra load of Rs 3000 crore, now we have to give Rs 12000 crore and the Central government gives us only Rs 300 crore," he said.
"So this is wrong. In every state of India, there is a demand for pensions and that is social security for old age people. So, the Central government should bring such a law in the parliament like MGNREGA and RTI, so that all the countrymen who are old and widows should get the same pension. I think this will be a very revolutionary step," he added.
Chief Minister Gehlot was on a tour of Dhariyawad to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of 13 important schemes and counted the achievements of his government.
Addressing the public meeting, Gehlot expressed gratitude to the people of the region for the victory of Nagraj Meena of Congress in the by-election.
He called upon the general public to take maximum benefit of the public welfare schemes of the government.
During this, Chief Minister Gehlot also fiercely targeted the central government stating that the state government has been demanding medical colleges from the Modi government for the last several years, but the central government did not pay attention to this, so the Congress government of the state has given three new medical colleges to the state from the budget of the state government for the youth.
He said that the Congress government will leave no stone unturned in the development of the state in the coming times.
Many veteran Congress leaders including Minister Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya, Udailal Anjana, MLA Ramlal Meena, Nagraj Meena and others were present on the occasion. (ANI)