M.P. government to take out Vikas Yatra from Feb. 5

Medical Education Minister said they would begin the Yatra on Sant Ravidas’ birth anniversary and beneficiaries of government schemes would be given the benefits

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan held a meeting with all Ministers of the State on Wednesday to chalk out the strategy for the MP Vikas Yatra (Development Rally) that would be taken out for a fortnight, from February 5 to February 20.

Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang said after the meeting that they would begin Vikas Yatra on Sant Ravidas’ birth anniversary. Foundation stones would be laid for all development works that had been sanctioned, and those completed would be inaugurated. Beneficiaries of Central and State government schemes would be identified and given the benefits.

While the Yatra was an annual event in the BJP government’s calendar, this edition assumed extra significance as the government faces an election later this year. The Chief Minister, who attended the BJP’s national executive in Delhi in the past two days, was said to have conveyed PM Narendra Modi’s emphasis on making efforts to reach out to every section of society, including minorities and marginalised communities, to his Cabinet colleagues.

It is further learnt that besides talking about its own schemes, the party would also be vocal about the stuck schemes during the short-lived tenure of the Congress government in the State.

The yatras— where elected representatives and other stakeholders such as members of social organisations and volunteers, besides government machinery and beneficiaries come together— would be taken out in all villages and municipal wards in urban areas. The route would be finalised by district collectors along with district in-charge Ministers. A BJP source added that though it was a government exercise, the party machinery also provided background support and tried to build connect with the people.