Sambal scheme cards with Shivraj Chouhan's pic not to be distributed

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan campaigns in support of BJP candidate Rameshwar Sharma, in Bhopal, Monday, Nov 26, 2018. (PTI Photo) (PTI11_26_2018_000213B)

The Congress government in Madhya Pradesh has ordered that registration cards of Sambal Yojana, a welfare scheme, should not be distributed as they carry the picture of former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Chouhan had announced this scheme for the poor and labourers last June, but its implementation was delayed as the model code of conduct came into force ahead of Assembly polls.

"The government has decided not to distribute the Sambal Yojana cards because they have become useless now as they carry Chouhan's picture. We had demanded then that cards with Chouhan's picture should not be distributed as the state was going to the polls," said Congress spokesperson Narendra Saluja.

However, the BJP government went ahead and printed these cards at a cost of about Rs 18 crore because Chouhan wanted publicity, he alleged.

"Chief minister Kamal Nath has directed that his own photo too should not be printed on new cards. The new cards would carry the government's logo and names of other schemes," Saluja said.

The BJP on the other hand alleged that Chouhan's picture on the cards was only an excuse, and the Congress government wanted to scrap the scheme altogether.

"They are targeting welfare schemes for the poor launched in the past 15 years one by one," said Vijesh Lunawat, state BJP's vice president.

The government's next move would be stopping the annual Surya Namaskar programme, he alleged.

Under the Sambal Yojana, the state government aimed to provide social security to 1.8 crore persons from weaker sections of the society. The government had waived unpaid electricity bills of such families under the scheme.