Congress urges government to distribute free laptops to all students

PUDUCHERRY: Opposition Congress today charged the AINRC government in Puducherry with adopting "discriminatory and deficient" policy in the scheme to distribute free laptops to students of higher secondary classes.

PCC president A V Subramanian said in a release that the Chief Minister N Rangasmy had announced that students who passed out from class XII in the academic year 2013-2014 would be given the laptops by end of March.

The government had announced during the formation of the ministry in 2011 that all students would be given laptops from 2011-2012 academic year.

But not restricting the benefit of the scheme to students of class XII of the last academic year "is unjust and discriminatory", Subramanian said.

He said students in private schools should also be presented the laptops. "There should be no discrmination among students in extending welfare schemes", he said.