If there are any people-centric legislations made in recent times, they are only Bangaru Talli and SC,ST sub-plans, chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy said.
Speaking at the launch of Bangaru Talli, which was given legal protection by way of a legislation in the recent Assembly session, he said most of the time, the Assembly witnesses verbal duels between ruling and opposition parties, with not much discussion on anything important related to people.
Kiran Kumar Reddy also launched the website of Bangaru Talli and distributed cheques of Rs 2,500 each to the beneficiaries on the occasion.
“In the last five years, if there were any legislations passed which can change the lives of people and have an impact on the society as a whole, they were Bangaru Talli and SC, ST sub-plans. They, in fact, will top the list of such legislations in last three decades,” he claimed.
Stressing the importance of gender equality, he said it is imperative to bring in a new scheme with legal protection to protect the interests of the girl child, even in the fast changing present-day world, is being neglected.
“In the last 20 years, one crore girls were killed either in the womb or after birth. Between 2005-2011 alone, 78,0000 girls died. There is nothing more atrocious than this. Who gave anyone the right to kill them? There is need for a change in the society and we took a step to bring about that change,” he said, adding that change must happen in the family first. The chief minister explained how the state government is helping pregnant woman by providing nutritious food through Amrutha Hastham and how the bed strength in hospitals is being improved for better care of newborns.
Also, the state government has sought an additional 6,500 beds, costing `480 crore.
“None of these decisions are politically motivated; we are only addressing the needs of the people. The reason for Bangaru Thalli legislation in the face of criticism is to ensure that the girl child benefits whether we are in government or not.
Now, the scheme being protected by law, financial aid is the right of every girl child from economically backward families,” he said. Hereafter, the state government will make public the relevant statistics every May 1, he said.
Turning to politics, Kiran Kumar Reddy said his ‘Nadaka Miturdu’ TDP Chandrababu Naidu chose not to be in the Assembly when the SC,ST Sub-Plan Bill was passed and all the opposition parties walked out when the Bangaru Talli Bill was introduced.
Presiding over the meeting, women welfare and child development minister V Sunita Lakshma Reddy said Bangaru Talli is a boon to girls in the state. Since May 1, as many as 20,000 girls were registered under the Act, she said.