Pay hike to benefit 25 lakh Anganwadi workers: Jaitley
New Delhi, Sep 15 : Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBM) has become a "people's movement" with a large participation of women, noting that the decision to hike compensation will benefit around 25 lakh Anganwadi workers and their families.
The Minister said SBM has witnessed a "phenomenal increase" in rural sanitation from 39 per cent to 92 per cent in the last four years.
He said initially people in the rural areas were reluctant to accept the scheme and thus required a "behavioural change". The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan mission has transformed into a movement with women playing a leading role in it.
"We all knew that the dignity of women demanded privacy of toilet," Jaitley said in a blog. He said in several parts of India toilets have been named 'Izzat Ghar'.
He said the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was "arguably the most successful" of government schemes.
Referring to the target of making India free from open defecation by 2019 -- the 150th year of Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary -- the Finance Minister pointed to the preventive health care benefits of the scheme.
"Global experts believe the SBM will have saved over three lakh lives in the country by the time we become 'open-defecation-free' in 2019," he said.
Referring'to government's decision to enhance the compensation paid to the Anganwadi workers and the Asha workers, he said the Anganwadi workers are the mainstay of the National Nutrition Mission.
There are approximately 12.9 lakh Anganwadi workers and 11.6 lakh Anganwadi helpers. These benefits would be available to these 24.9 lakh Anganwadi workers and their families.
He said the remuneration of Anganwadi workers has been raised from Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,500 per month and that of mini Anganwadi workers from Rs 2,250 has been increased to Rs 3,500.
Remuneration of Anganwadi helpers has been increased from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,250 per month.
These workers will also get an incentive of Rs 500 per month and Rs 250 per month respectively on the basis of the real-time monitoring of performance, he said.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
