Following its announcement of 300 free electricity units for domestic users, the Samajwadi Party (SP) on Wednesday guaranteed all impoverished women in the state a INR 18,000 yearly (INR 1,500 per month) 'Samajwadi' pension if the party becomes the government after the 2022 assembly elections.
After the SP came to power in 2012, it proposed a INR 500 monthly pension for impoverished women, which was provided through the direct bank transfer (DBT) system, which was implemented with an expanded network of rural banks. Now, if the SP administration is established, the party has pledged a two-fold increase in the Samajwadi pension.
The SP's earlier 'Samajwadi' pension system for women garnered news as the government named Bollywood star Vidya Balan as an ambassador for the scheme, who appeared in promotional videos to get more women to sign up.
The plan was an instant hit when it was originally introduced during the previous Samajwadi Party government, according to the former UP chief minister. "I remember coming across a news report highlighting the plight of women in the Musar community in Varanasi. I asked the then district magistrate to list all of them under the scheme. Similarly, Kushinagar DM had approached the government for some additional funds to help local women and we got them enrolled under this pension scheme. In Bundelkhand, we conducted a special drive to identify and enroll beneficiaries," said Akhilesh.
According to Chaudhary, "this time we will reach out to women, particularly those who could no longer contribute to the family's earnings owing to old age, and enroll them apart from any woman who was not earning and came under the below poverty line category," said SP national secretary and chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary. Such sops not only help women financially, but also bring them respect and importance in the family.”
The Samajwadi pension is SP's second significant statement to the people of Uttar Pradesh. Previously, the party pledged 300 free power units to household users, as well as free electricity to farmers for irrigation, a revolving fund for cane purchase, and interest-free agricultural loans.
The party has already developed a technique for sharing the financial burden of various assistance programmes, and the party's election platform will include such information for each plan.
