Team Goemkarponn
SANKHALI: Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant defended Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme, asserting that it is not a political speech but a platform through which the Prime Minister directly interacts with the people of the country.
Responding to criticism over the programme being shown to students, Dr Sawant said there was no political motive behind the initiative.
“I say that Mann Ki Baat is not a political speech. It is a programme through which the Prime Minister directly interacts with the people of the country. Some people may feel that we are showing this programme to students for political reasons, but that is not the case,” the Chief Minister said.
He described Mann Ki Baat as a unique initiative that has enabled regular communication between the Prime Minister and citizens across the country.
“The Prime Minister is perhaps the first Prime Minister of the country to begin directly communicating and interacting with the people in this manner. Before this, no Prime Minister had continuously engaged with citizens on such a large scale in this way,” Dr Sawant added.
The Chief Minister was speaking while launching the Chief Minister’s Scholarship App, a digital platform that allows students to upload documents and apply online for various government scholarship schemes.
Dr Sawant said the app covers scholarships for SC, ST, OBC and EWS students, eliminating the need for applicants to visit government offices. He said nearly 33,000 students benefited from the scholarship scheme last year, with tuition fee reimbursements credited directly to their bank accounts within three months.
He appealed to educational institutions and the public to create awareness about the app so that more eligible students can avail of the benefits offered by the government.
