CM Nitish Kumar Honors Sant Ravidas' Legacy, Pledges Continued Support for SC/ST Welfare
Chief Minister Shri Nitish Kumar attended the capacity building program of Vikas Mitras organized at Bapu Auditorium located at Samrat Ashok Convention Center on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Sant Shiromani Ravidas ji. The program was organized by the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Welfare Department. The Chief Minister paid his tribute by offering flowers to the picture of Sant Shiromani Ravidas ji and Bharat Ratna Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar ji.
Addressing the program organized on this occasion, the Chief Minister said that I congratulate and wish all of you for organizing this program. You all have come here in large numbers, I congratulate and welcome all of you. I pay my tribute to Sant Shiromani Ravidas ji on his birth anniversary. He said that Sant Ravidas ji raised his voice against casteism, discrimination and untouchability and gave the message of equality and brotherhood to the society. The contribution of Sant Ravidas ji cannot be forgotten. I also salute the maker of the Constitution, Bharat Ratna Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar on this occasion. We should also remember the work done by him.
The Chief Minister said that from the beginning we have worked for the benefit of all sections of the society, be it Hindu, Muslim, general class or backward, extremely backward, Dalit or Mahadalit. Many special programs and schemes were run to bring the people of the deprived class into the mainstream. Bihar Mahadalit Vikas Mission was established in the year 2009 to extend the benefits of government schemes to the Mahadalit class, due to which the people of the Mahadalit class are getting a lot of benefit. He said that in the year 2023, the honorarium of Vikas Mitras has been increased from Rs 13,700 to Rs 25,000 and it is being increased by 5 percent every year.
The Chief Minister said that many important schemes are being run for the upliftment of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe class. In the year 2018, 'Udyami Yojana' was started for the employment of youth and girls of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe class. Under this scheme, assistance of Rs 10 lakh is being given for setting up industry in which Rs 5 lakh is being provided as grant and Rs 5 lakh as interest free loan. The youth of this category are getting the benefit of 'Civil Seva Protsahan Yojana'. 'Mukhyamantri Gram Parivahan Yojana' has been started to provide employment to the youth. Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe residential schools and hostels have been established.
The Chief Minister said that whatever other requirements will be there for the upliftment of the people of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe category will be fulfilled. We are continuously working for the upliftment of all sections and all areas of the society. Everyone knows what was the situation before we came to power. People did not go out of the house in the evening. Now people are roaming around till late night and doing their business. Right now we are visiting all the places and meeting people during the journey. We are also talking about how they are getting the benefit of the government schemes. We have told the officials to solve all the problems told by the people immediately. We are working to ensure that people do not face any inconvenience. We have been working together to develop the state since 2005. Respected Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji made me the Chief Minister. The Central Government and Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji are also giving full support for the development of the state. We will work on whatever is needed for the upliftment of the poor section. We will continue to work continuously to take forward the people of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe category. On this occasion, I bow to Sant Shiromani Ravidas ji. I congratulate all of you.
In the program, Vikas Mitra Shri Bittu Kumar and Ms. Rajni Kumari welcomed the Chief Minister by presenting him a symbol and a shawl.
The program was also addressed by Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Samrat Chaudhary, Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Vijay Kumar Sinha, Union Minister of State for Home Mr. Nityanand Rai, Rural Works Minister Mr. Ashok Chaudhary, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Welfare Minister Mr. Janak Ram, Secretary of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Welfare Department Mr. Devesh Sehra.
On this occasion, Minor Water Resources cum Disaster Management Minister Mr. Santosh Kumar Suman, Education Minister Mr. Sunil Kumar, Liquor Prohibition, Excise and Registration Minister Mr. Ratnesh Sada and other public representatives, Chief Secretary Mr. Amrit Lal Meena, Development Commissioner Mr. Pratyaya Amrit, Additional Chief Secretary of Education Department Dr. S. Siddharth, Director General of Police Mr. Vinay Kumar, Special Officer to the Chief Minister Mr. Gopal Singh, Commissioner of Patna Division Mr. Mayank Barbade, Director of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Welfare Department Mr. Shyam Bihari Meena, Director of Bihar Mahadalit Vikas Mission Mr. Gautam Paswan, District Magistrate of Patna Dr. Chandrashekhar Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police Mr. Avkash Kumar and other senior officers and a large number of Vikas Mitras were present.
