Cong to launch campaign on welfare schemes

All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in charge of Andhra affairs Digvijay Singh today rated the performance of the state government as 'very good' while gearing up the ruling Congress party for a four-month campaign on its welfare schemes through a three-phase mass contact programme starting September 1.

Singh's remark comes in the wake of a three-month agitation led by the Left parties, which assumed clear political overtones with their demand for chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy's resignation after the Mudigonda police firing that took seven lives.

"No state government in the entire country other than Andhra has earmarked Rs 5,000 crore in the annual Plan for the weaker section housing programme. Our (government and the Left) goal is the same. The government is well on course to provide shelter to each and every poor family in the state by April 2009 and we will go to polls precisely on this accomplishment," he said after a periodical review meeting at the state Congress headquarters on the implementation of election manifesto.

Terming the Mudigonda incident as unfortunate, he, however, said the chief minister took strong measures besides announcing a substantial ex gratia, government jobs and land to the victims' families. Comparing it with Nandigram killings, he said no judicial probe was ordered and no rehabilitation and ex gratia were given to the victims by the West Bengal government.

Reiterating his stand on the demand for setting up an independent commission for distribution of land to the landless poor, he said no commission can be above the Cabinet and the chief minister in a democracy when it comes to public policy and implementation of the same. "However, we have sought further clarifications from the Left on their demand and also the terms of reference they wanted for it," he said.

The government would undertake registration of applications from house-seekers under the second phase Indiramma programme from September 1-30 as part of the mass contact programme.

From October 2 till Dussehra, the government would perform mass 'house warming' ceremonies for homes being built under the phase 1 programme. Registration under phase three would be taken up in December.