Rajasthan's senior citizens can go for a free pilgrimage courtesy Raje govt

State CM flags off first flight of pilgrims to Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh from Jaipur airport

The Assembly elections in Rajasthan are scheduled to be held next year. Vasundhara Raje-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has introduced two populist schemes to woo voters recently. The latest in the fray is an all-expenses-paid pilgrimage trip via air for citizens aged above 70 years.

On Tuesday, Raje flagged off the first flight of pilgrims to Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh from Jaipur airport. 

The Rajasthan government has also made lodging and food arrangements for the 30 pilgrims, 28 of whom were travelling by an aircraft for the first time, a report published in The Indian Express said. 

Uner the Deendayal Upadhyay Varisht Nagrik Teerth Yojana, the state government aims to send close to 1000 elderly pilgrims who cannot afford air travel in 26 batches to Rameshwaram, Jagannathpuri and Tirupati Balaji, among others. An estimate suggests that air tickets for the all-expense-paid pilgrimage are expected to come at a cost of approximately 1.75 crore. 

The pilgrims are selected on the basis of a lottery conducted by the district collector. At present, 110 pilgrims for Tirupati, 357 for Rameswaram, 13 for Sammed Sikhar and 225 for Jagannath Temple in Puri have been selected.

Previously in December 2016, Raje had introduced the Annapurna kitchens scheme offering ultra low-cost meals which is similar to the Amma canteens introduced by Tamil Nadu government.