Hyderabad, Aug 9 (PTI) Amid a debate on the culture of freebies, ruling TRS MLC Kavitha Kalvakuntla on Tuesday said the welfare of poorer sections of society is not a freebie and that welfare measures taken by governments should continue.

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It is the responsibility of the elected government, State or Central, to take care of the poor, she said.

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The TRS government in Telangana runs about 250 welfare schemes, she said.

Observing that there is now a trend of terming welfare schemes as freebies, she alleged that the Centre is putting pressure on the State government to stop the schemes.

The TRS is opposing this, she said in a release.

“Because, welfare of any poor person is the responsibility of the government and the atmosphere that is being created across the nation today, saying that welfare is freebie is not correct,” said Kavitha, daughter of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.

Writing off debt to the tune of crores of rupees is the actual freebie, she said. "I believe a freebie is what BJP government has now done, it has written off 10 lakh crore of debt of fraudulent agencies. That is freebie. Welfare for weaker sections is never a freebie. It is our social obligation, of the government's too..." she said.

The intelligentsia of the country should oppose what is being created against welfare measures, she said.

The nation is a diverse one, and it is the government's responsibility to help the poorer sections to break the cycle of poverty and help them progress, she said.

The State governments are working towards helping the poor, and the Central government should not place hindrances to that, she added.

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