2/6G: Congress Launches Free Bus Ride for Women, Doubles Medical Aid to Poor

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Saturday launched the ‘Maha Lakshmi’ free bus commute for women and hiked aid under the Rajiv Aarogyasri health insurance scheme from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh, fulfilling two of the Congress’ Six Guarantees within two days of coming to power.

Launching the schemes on the birthday of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, Reddy reaffirmed his government’s commitment to implement all of the guarantees within 100 days of coming to power.

Ministers and MLAs, after taking the oath on at the Legislative Assembly, boarded a TSRTC bus and travelled to Tank Bund to pay floral tributes to Dr B.R. Ambedkar, at his statue.

Revanth Reddy said that the Rajiv Aarogyasri scheme was devised to extend medical and health care to the poor, with medical and health services of up to '10 lakh to be extended to each beneficiary.

Revanth Reddy said that the Congress government decided to launch both these schemes on December 9 “as this day was a very special festive occasion for Telangana state,” adding it was on December 9, 2009, under the leadership of the then UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, that then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and home minister P. Chidambaram initiated the process to establish Telangana state.
“On this historic day, Sonia Gandhi, having realised the decades-old desire and ambition of Telangana people, and as a mother to Telangana people, made every person in Telangana feel proud by declaring that Telangana state will be formed,” Reddy said.
He said that just as Sonia Gandhi had promised Telangana and granted statehood, the Congress would similarly fulfil the Six Guarantees announced by her at a public meeting in Tukkuguda.

 “With the same spirit, Sonia Gandhi gave Six Guarantees to the people in Telangana state on September 17, 2003. On this day, on December 9, after the first session of the newly formed Legislative Assembly meeting, after administering oath to the members, the Congress government had dedicated two of the Six Guarantees to people in Telangana,” Reddy said.
Revanth Reddy stated that the Six Guarantees of the Congress were formulated keeping in mind the best interests of the poor and marginalised sections of society.
On the occasion, Revanth Reddy also presented a cheque of '2 crore to world boxing champion Nikhat Zareen, a Nizamabad native, to aid her in her training in Patiala of Punjab for the Paris Olympics scheduled in 2024.