Hamirpur, September 1, 2026:
Former Union Minister and Member of Parliament from Hamirpur, Anurag Singh Thakur, welcomed Himachal Pradesh Governor Kavinder Gupta at a programme organised to mark five years of the social initiative ‘Ek Se Shreshth’. Sharing the journey and achievements of the initiative over the past five years, Thakur expressed his gratitude to the Governor for motivating and guiding students.
The programme, organised at the National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur, was attended by former MLAs Dr Anil Dhiman, Kamlesh Kumari, Urmil Thakur, Narendra Thakur and Vijay Agnihotri. BJP District President Rakesh Thakur, the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the Zila Parishad, along with other dignitaries and party functionaries, were also present.
Anurag Thakur said that ‘Ek Se Shreshth’ was not merely an educational programme but a comprehensive social initiative aimed at providing better opportunities to children from all sections of society. He said the Governor spending time with students and inspiring them to move forward would undoubtedly prove highly motivating for them.
Thakur said that inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of development and inclusive growth, he launched the ‘Ek Se Shreshth’ programme in the Hamirpur parliamentary constituency without any government assistance. Based on the spirit of the traditional Gurukul system, the initiative provides free education and guidance to children in need.
He said the ‘Ek Se Shreshth’ programme was launched on October 5, 2021, on the occasion of World Teachers’ Day. The initiative aims to make a meaningful contribution towards addressing challenges such as unemployment, migration and economic difficulties facing Himachal Pradesh through education.
Anurag Thakur said that nearly 650 ‘Ek Se Shreshth’ centres were currently operating across the Hamirpur parliamentary constituency. More than 12,000 children from economically weaker families belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and the general category are receiving free coaching, along with lessons in values and personality development.
Keeping the holistic development of children in mind, Thakur said that protein shakes were also being provided regularly to help protect students from malnutrition. Students are also being connected with initiatives related to patriotism, sports and cleanliness to inculcate a sense of social responsibility. He added that more than 98 per cent of the teachers associated with these centres were women, further strengthening the cause of women’s empowerment.
He said that under this social initiative, more than 950 children had so far been provided with school bags, books and stationery, while over 25 teachers had been given laptops to make the teaching process more effective.
Targeting the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh, Anurag Thakur said that the government, which had promised five lakh government jobs to youth during the elections, had failed to generate adequate employment opportunities. He alleged that instead of creating employment, the government was moving towards a system of lotteries and gambling that could adversely affect lakhs of families.
He said that Himachal Pradesh was already burdened with a debt of more than Rs 1.10 lakh crore, with the state’s debt reaching nearly 42 per cent of its GDP. In such serious economic circumstances, the government should focus on providing relief to the people and creating new employment opportunities rather than taking steps that could further weaken the financial condition of families through mechanisms such as lotteries.
