Latehar (Jharkhand), Nov 2 (PTI) Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Kalpana Soren on Saturday urged the Centre to implement a universal pension scheme in the country on the pattern of Jharkhand and provide Rs 1,000 per month to beneficiaries.

Kalpana, wife of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, was addressing an election rally in Latehar in favour of JMM candidate Baidyanath Ram.

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She claimed that the Hemant Soren government launched universal pension scheme in Jharkhand and as many as 27 lakh beneficiaries have been enrolled under the scheme in the past five years. The beneficiaries are being provided Rs 1,000 per month, she said.

Kalpana alleged that during the previous BJP regime, there were only 13 lakh pension beneficiaries in the state.

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The JMM MLA claimed that the Centre provides only Rs 250 per month per head under the pension scheme, while the rest is provided by the state government.

"I would urge the central ministers that following the pattern of Jharkhand, where Rs 1,000 pension is being provided to 27 lakh people by the Hemant Soren government, implement a universal pension scheme in the country and provide Rs 1,000 per month instead of Rs 250 to beneficiaries," she said.

She alleged that the BJP cannot do any good to Jharkhand. "In 2014, when the BJP's double engine government was in power in Jharkhand, they closed thousands of schools in the state. BJP never wanted children here to study, progress and fulfil their dreams," she said.

When the alliance government was formed, Hemant Soren resolved to reopen those closed schools and they were revived.

"CM School of Excellence was started with the aim of providing the best education to every child of Jharkhand. This is not just a school, it is the foundation of the bright future of every child of Jharkhand," Kalpana said.

She said the JMM was committed to the development of Jharkhand so that every village and city of the state can move ahead on the path of progress.

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