In a bid to win over the voters and retain their power, the current BJP government in both the poll bound states of Rajasthan and Chattisgarh are relying on its scheme of distributing free smartphones with internet connection provided by Jio telecom. The government aims to cover almost three-fourths of the population by distributing the phones to about 15million families.
In Chattisgarh alone, the government is trying to target more than 50 lakh families. Many of the people are first-time users in rural parts. The telecom companies will provide the phone and the connection which will get paid by the state governments for doing so. The scheme in Chattisgarh is working under the Sanchar Kranti Yojana which focuses on building a better connectivity in the state. The smartphones are distributed in two phases.
The scheme is undertaken to also empower women as 40 lakh phones will be given to women heads of households in villages while five lakh phones will be given to women heads belonging to poor families living in urban areas. Some five lakh phones will also be given to college students. The state government is distributing 45 lakh Micromax phones with Reliance Jio connections.
These Smartphones will help people to remain updated with the government’s welfare schemes and about the processes to avail benefits. Also, smartphones will help in cashless payments through digital transactions.
Similarly, the Rajasthan government is also distributing phones to about crore families under the Bhamashah Digital Parivar Yojana and has identified below poverty line (BPL) families and youths from poor backgrounds to distribute the smartphones.
According to the Sources, the idea behind the distribution of phones is to take advantage of the party’s social media presence which had helped the party to win elections in 2014.The NaMo app is inbuilt in all the phones and if sources are to be believed, in Rajasthan there will also be an app in the name of the CM Vasundhara Raje.
However, the Congress party has alleged that it is a political propaganda with the face of the leaders in the government in the phone and has termed it as ‘collective bribery’. The Janta Congress in Chattisgarh had even approached EC asking it to halt the program.