Pilgrimage scheme won”t be scrapped in Madhya Pradesh: Minister PC Sharma

Madhya Pradesh minister PC Sharma on Sunday dismissed rumours about scrapping of the ‘Mukhya Mantri Teerth Darshan Yojana’ launched by previous BJP government, saying a new schedule of the pilgrimage scheme would soon be issued.
There were speculations that the scheme for senior citizens in the state may be discontinued after General Administration Department (GAD) Minister Govind Singh opposed it a few days back, saying funds for it should rather be used on health and education-related works.
His statement came after the state government’s spiritual department on Wednesday cancelled pilgrimage trains scheduled between February 15 and March 2 under the scheme, citing unavoidable circumstances.
However, state Public Relations Minister Sharma, who is also in-charge of the spiritual department, said the scheme was not going to be scrapped and the pilgrimage trains were cancelled due to some technical reasons.
“The scheme will be continued. Currently, exams are going on (in schools and colleges). Some other technical issues are there. But, a new schedule for the pilgrimage would soon be issued,” he said without elaborating.
GAD minister Singh, however, said he was personally not in favour of the scheme.
“The poor are not benefitting, but those well-to-do are using this scheme for outings. We inherited the state from the BJP in a poor financial condition. I think the fund meant for this pilgrimage scheme should rather be used for health, education and development,” he told reporters on Sunday.
Singh said “blessings of God can be sought only when people spend their hard-earned money on pilgrimage”.
On the other hand, the BJP took a dig at the contradictory statements of two ministers in the Congress- ruled state.
“It looks like nobody has information about the future of the ‘Teerth Darshan Yojana’. One minister is opposing the scheme, another is claiming its continuation. The entire Congress government is confused. Nobody knows who is running the government,” BJP MLA Rameshwar Sharma said.
It seems the government is testing the waters (reviewing opposition to any move to scrap the scheme) before discontinuation of the pilgrimage scheme, which is benefitting the poor, he said.
Under the scheme, started by the previous BJP government in 2012, residents above 60 years of age are eligible to go on a pilgrimage to religious places of their choice, for which the state government bears the expenses.