Shivraj Singh Chouhan – Common man's CM

By Ataullah Faizan

Bhopal, July 14, 2011

   

  Soon after assuming reins of the state government eight years ago, Shivraj Singh Chouhan has made it a habit to interact with common people either by going among them or calling them to his residence in the form of Panchayats and Mahapanchayats of various sections of society. It has helped the Chief Minister to know the difficulties and problems of people directly from them. This has led to the formulation and launch of various welfare schemes in the State, which were unheard of before the regime of Chouhan, reports SMS News & Feature.

. Chouhan once again interacted with common man at their doorstep. The episode occurred in Indore recently. In the morning, the Chief Minister had left Indore Residency for the airport. En route, he stopped suddenly at the shed of daily wage labourers at Kalani Nagar. There, he held detailed talk with labourers. He enquired about their well being and elicited their views about the schemes being conducted for their welfare    The Chief Minister instructed the collector to make arrangements of sitting and ensure cleanliness at the daily wage labourers' shed. He talked to labourers about their wages. Labourers told him that each labourer gets daily wages ranging from Rs 200 to Rs 250 per day. They said that they get five days' labour work a week. The Chief Minister instructed that ration cards should be issued to those labourers who do not have ration cards.

  Not only this, Chouhan also ate poha at a roadside vendor's shop. When he was interacting with labourers, poha-jalebi vendor Arvind Yadav brought poha and water to the Chief Minister. To this, Chouhan said, "Bhaiyya please wait for a while. Let me first complete my talk with labourers. Then I will visit your handcart. I will not return without eating poha." After the interaction, the Chief Minister fulfilled his promise promptly, reached the handcart of a vendor and ate 'poha' there. Yadav said, "I am lucky that you have come to my handcart. I used to hear about the good works being undertaken by you. Today, I have the chance to meet you directly. It seems incredible that the head of the state ate poha at a handcart."

It may be mentioned that now no section of society in Madhya Pradesh has been left whose Panchayat was not held at the CM's residence, problems redressed and a plethora of welfare schemes launched for them. Holding of Panchayats at Chief Minister’s residence has been the largest ever exercise to elicit the opinion of the different sections of people before taking decisions for them.

According to Chouhan, common man is central to the schemes and programmes of the state government and their betterment is the only criteria of progress. The state government has been able to give a human face to the economy. Now, nothing can stop the progress of the state when the Chief Minister is committed to see Madhya Pradesh as a front ranking state of the country. He has been calling upon the people to contribute their mite in all round progress and prosperity of the state.

In fact the tenure of the present government has been a golden period for industrialisation of the state.