Withdrawal of welfare schemes likely if TD alliance wins power: CM Jagan

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has cautioned the people that if the TD-led alliance wins power in the present polls, it would withdraw all the ongoing welfare schemes including the social security pensions in the state.

Addressing the people at three locations of Narasapuram, Narasaraopeta and Kanigiri as part of his YSRC’s electioneering on Friday, he said, “The upcoming elections are not just to elect the MPs and MLAs. They are so important to decide whether to continue the ongoing welfare schemes and developmental works or to allow these to be discontinued. By chance, if the TD-JS-BJP gets elected to power, it is like keeping one’s head into the mouth of a python and also like waking up ‘Chandramukhi’ and ‘Pasupathi’, who will knock at your doors to suck your blood.”

Jagan Mohan Reddy listed out the series of welfare schemes that are being implemented in the last 59 months, including distribution social security pension worth `3,000 to the beneficiaries at their doorstep on the first day of every month, development of government schools, introduction of English medium, providing a online private education player’s content, Tabs to Class VIII students, CBSE syllabus to IB, digital classrooms, insulation of IFBs, supply of bilingual textbooks and financial aid to students to pursue higher studies.

He also cited the steps like providing financial assistance worth `2.70 lakh crore to women under various schemes, sanction of 31 lakh house sites and construction of 22 lakh houses, setting up RBKs, village health clinics, introduction of e-crop, enhancement of Aarogyasri coverage to `25 lakh, setting up village/ward volunteer system, support to MSMEs and several others.

Claiming that he has initiated several welfare schemes and developmental works in an unprecedented manner in the history of AP, Jagan Mohan Reddy asked the people to find out what schemes and developmental works were taken up by the Telugu Desam chief Chandrababu Naidu during his 14 years’ reign and also as a CM for three times in AP.

He displayed the manifesto of TD in 2014 and read out the important promises like farm loan waiver of `87,612 cr, Dwcra women loan waiver worth `14,205 crore, deposit of ‘25,000 for girl child, a job to every house and unemployment stipend of ‘2,000 if no job is given, sanction of three cents of land and construction of a pucca house, allotment of `10,000 cr for BC sub plan and several others.

He asked the people whether Naidu was able to fulfil any of those promises made in the party manifesto of 2014; and when the people replied by saying ‘no’, he asked them whether they would trust him again and vote for the NDA.

Jagan Mohan Reddy told the people that Naidu had come up with a new drama by forging an alliance with JS and BJP to seek votes from the people again. Referring to the NDA’s new manifesto for 2024 polls, Jagan Mohan Reddy said that again the NDA was coming up with ‘Super Six and Super Seven’ and making promises which were highly impractical to implement.

He said, “AP is witnessing a class war and every vote is important. You consult your family members and find out who is getting what kind of benefit and decide to whom to vote. I appeal to you all to support the YSRC in the polls to ensure continuation of all schemes. We need to get all 175 Assembly seats and 25 Lok Sabha seats to help serve the people in a better way.”

Referring to the hardships the aged pensioners were undergoing to collect their social security pensions of late, he slammed Naidu for lodging a complaint with the ECI through his loyalist Nimmagadda Ramesh and got the withdrawal of volunteers from the job of reaching pensions to the doorsteps of the beneficiaries. “It is important to re-elect YSRC to power to restore volunteers to deliver a series of services including pensions at the doorsteps of the people,” he stressed.