States Watch

Sonia ji Inaugurates Mobile Diagnostic Unit

NEW DELHI : The Congress president, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, formally inaugurated on August 20 the Punjab government’s "Rajiv Gandhi mobile diagnostic unit" project from her 10, Janpath residence here.

The mobile diagnostic units contain advanced facilities such as the ECG, Pap smear test, Sputum test for tuberculosis, urine sugar, blood sugar and eye tests. It would be available at the doorstep of rural people.

The units were described by the Punjab government as an innovative and path breaking attempt at taking modern, advanced diagnostic facilities to the remote and interior areas of the State. These units would have a medical officer, a pathologist, a lab technician, one ophthalmic assistant and female assistant.

Initially, six of these mobile units would be deployed in remote and border areas of Gurdaspur, Ferozepur, Amritsar and Kandi region.

Several party leaders and MPs including the AICC general secretaries, Smt. Mohsina Kidwai and Smt. Ambika Soni, MPs Dr. Manmohan Singh Smt. Parneet Kaur, Shri Raghunandan Lal Bhatia and Shri Shamsher Singh Dullo, and the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief, Shri H.S. Hanspal, were present on the occasion.

Rajiv GandhI Village Health Scheme

PATIALA: On the occasion of birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi, Punjab Chief Minister, Capt. Amrinder Singh launched the Rajiv Gandhi Village Health Scheme. Around Rs. 500 crores will be spent on this important project. Addressing the gathering, Capt. Amrinder Singh said that free toilets will be built for dalits in the villages in a phased manner.

Revising his resolve to give more powers to the gram panchayats, Capt. Amrinder Singh said the appointments of doctors and teachers should be given to the panchayats. He said that Rajiv Gandhi was interested that more and more powers should be bestowed on the panchayats.

On the occasion, the Village and Agriculture minister, Smt. Rajendra Kaur Bhattal said that Rajiv Gandhi was the only prime minister who had created direct links with panchs and sarpanchs through his letters.

Others who attended the function included Local Development minister, Chaudhary Jagjit Singh, Finance minister, Shri Lal Singh and many other MLAs.

Provide Aid to Farmers: Sonia Gandhi

NEW DELHI : The Congress president, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, has asked the Govt. to take steps to provide assistance to farmers and create an environment for the realistic execution of its announcements. In a letter written on 9 Sept. to the Union Agriculture Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh, in her capacity as the Leader of the Opposition, Smt. Gandhi said that even though the NABARD amendment Bill was introduced and passed on August 18 this year, the promise of nine per cent rate of interest on loan remained ‘hollow’. The NABARD Chairman had written to her stating that the amendment would not serve the purpose unless the rate of interest on General Line of Credit (GLC) by the RBI was reduced; the GLC itself was increased and the cooperative credit institutions were strengthened in line with the commercial banks. Smt. Gandhi told the Minister that the amendment was carried when it was pointed out that the cooperative banks which gave almost 40 percent of agriculture loans could not provide it at nine percent without reducing the number of stages through which the loan was processed. Referring to the NABARD Chairman’s suggestions Smt. Gandhi said these required urgent attention since farmers needed relief on many fronts, particularly with regard to credit. Of the total bank loans, the percentage of agriculture had been declining since 1997. The Centre and the RBI had failed to ensure that the banks achieved the stipulated target of 18 percent of total credit for the agriculture sector. Suggesting that community / group collateral should be accepted, Smt. Gandhi said that removal of restrictions on tenancy and leasing and accepting trees on a farmer’s land as collateral were other ways to solve the problem.

Mulayam Meets Sonia, invites Congress to Join U.P. Govt.

NEW DELHI : The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav, called on the Congress president, Smt. Sonia Gandhi here on Sept. 9 and invited her party to join his govt. Shri Yadav, who is on his first visit to the capital after taking over as the Chief Minister last week, called on Smt. Gandhi at her residence and personally conveyed his thanks for extending support to his govt. Briefing correspondents after his 45-minute meeting, Shri Yadav said he welcomed the "good beginning" and hoped this would strengthen the relationship between the two parties. In turn, the Congress president assured Shri Yadav that the party would reconsider its stand of supporting his govt. from outside. Smt. Gandhi told him that the party’s working committee had arrived at a decision and she would discuss with senior party leaders on the Samajwadi party’s offer to be part of the new govt. About the possibility of formation of a coordination committee of parties supporting the new govt., Shri Yadav said several issues were discussed. However, he expressed the view that since other political parties were also extending support, he would like to consult them before making any announcement. Shri Yadav praised Smt. Gandhi for facilitating the formation of his govt. "She has taken some very good decisions and has helped give the State a new govt.," Shri Yadav said.