Welfare of poor not a freebie: Kavitha

Hyderabad: Amid a nation-wide debate on freebies, MLC K Kavitha on Tuesday declared that the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) was categorically opposed to the Centre’s move to stall the welfare schemes, terming them as freebies. She accused the Centre of putting pressure on the State governments to stop the welfare schemes.

“The welfare of the poor and weaker sections cannot be considered a freebie. It is the responsibility of the elected governments – State or Central, to take care of the poor and hence, the welfare measures must continue,” she asserted. She added that the Telangana government was implementing about 250 welfare schemes in the State.

Writing off debt to the tune of crores of rupees was the actual freebie, the MLC said. “I believe a freebie is what the BJP government has now done. It has written off Rs 10 lakh crore of debts of fraudulent agencies. That is a freebie. Welfare for weaker sections is never a freebie. It is our social obligation, of the government’s too,” she added.

Kavitha strongly advocated the need for welfare schemes and urged the intelligentsia of the country to oppose the Centre’s move against welfare measures. Further, she said the State governments were working towards helping the poor, and the Central government should not place hurdles on that.

“The nation is diverse, and it is the government’s responsibility to help the poorer sections to break the cycle of poverty and help them progress,” Kavitha said.