The Lok Satta Party, on Friday, demanded that the government squash the Planning Commission's proposal for the free supply of mobile phones to the poor.
In a media statement, Lok Satta Party working president D V V S Varma referred to the Planning Commission's proposal to get the prime minister to announce the free phone scheme from the ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15, and said that such "hare-brained schemes" would not contribute to human resource development.
"The government should focus on providing free quality education, healthcare and improvement of skills. It is yet to implement its promise to supply medicines free of cost to all patients," he noted.
Varma pointed out that schemes aimed at garnering voters are counter-productive, and recalled how farmers, even to this day, are finding it difficult to get bank loans in the wake of the UPA I government's loan waiver scheme. He said that the scheme had failed even to arrest the tendency among farmers to commit suicide. (INN)
filed in:Lok Satta Party, Government Schemes, D V V S Varma