Kerala cabinet announces free bus travel for women after oath

Thiruvananthapuram: Vadasseri Damodara Menon Satheesan, who steered the Congress-led UDF back to power in Kerala after a decade by unseating the Left Front, took oath as chief minister on Monday at a packed and politically charged ceremony held at the Central Stadium here.

His 20-member cabinet, featuring a mix of experienced leaders and new entrants, was also sworn in by Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, with senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala – once seen as a contender for the top post – among those inducted.

The ceremony drew a wide spectrum of political leaders, with alliance partners such as the IUML, the UDF’s second-largest constituent, securing adequate representation in the new ministry, signalling a careful balancing of coalition interests in the new government.

Soon after the oath-taking ceremony and tea gathering at Lok Bhavan, the new cabinet, chaired by Satheesan, held its first meeting and decided to implement two of the five programmes announced by Rahul during the launch of the assembly election campaign in March. This includes free travel for women in KSRTC buses from June 15 and the creation of a dedicated department for elderly people, which, according to the CM, is the “first of its kind” in the country.

The other guarantees announced by Rahul during the elections are a monthly stipend of Rs 1,000 for girl students in colleges, an increase in the welfare pension to Rs 3,000, health insurance coverage of up to Rs 25 lakh per household, and interest-free loans of up to Rs 5 lakh for young entrepreneurs.

Fulfilling a promise made during the prolonged agitation by ASHA workers in front of the Secretariat during the Left rule, the UDF cabinet also approved an increase of Rs 3,000 per month in their honorarium, taking the total monthly remuneration to Rs 12,000.

Although this falls short of the commitment made in the UDF poll manifesto, Satheesan said the promises would be implemented in a phased manner.

Satheesan said that the government would increase the monthly remuneration of Anganwadi workers and helpers by Rs 1,000. He added that an additional Rs 1,000 per month would be given to school cooking staff, and that the honorarium of pre-primary teachers and ayahs (nannies) would also be increased by Rs 1,000.

Populist measures were announced after the UDF alleged that the state’s finances were in dire straits. In view of this, Satheesan said that a white paper would be issued detailing the state’s financial condition and the government exchequer.