Vote for YSRCP to continue welfare schemes, Jagan tells people

YSR Congress Party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Sunday called upon the people to vote for his party in the coming elections, if they want the ongoing welfare schemes to continue in the coming days.
“The upcoming elections are a battle to be fought between the ruling YSRCP which will continue welfare schemes with more vigour and the opposition which will certainly revoke them,” Jagan said, addressing a rally – Siddham (Ready) – of the party cadre and people at Raptadu in Anantapur district.
The meeting was attended by the YSRCP activists from 52 assembly constituencies of four districts of Rayalaseema. The chief minister was expected to announce his party’s election manifesto at the meeting, but he did not do it, as some changes were being made in it, a party leader familiar with the matter said.
Jagan claimed that he had implemented the election manifesto released before 2019 elections “in letter and spirit and fulfilled 99% of the promises”, while Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu “had taken all sections of society for a ride by throwing his party manifesto into dustbin after winning the 2014 elections”.
He cautioned the people to be wary of Naidu who was coming to the people “to cheat them with his manifesto in the name of Super Six schemes. A vote for the TDP and its allies would distance away the fruits of social justice from the people,” he said.
“We must explain to every individual, be it women, elderly, youth across all communities that they need to vote for the YSRCP for continuation of all welfare schemes. The party cadre and volunteers should visit every household and explain the benefits extended by the YSRCP government,” he said.
He called upon the party cadre to explain the necessity to vote for the YSRCP again in order to ensure that the elderly, widow, and differently-abled get their pensions at their doorstep, on the first of every month, without a hassle through the secretariat system.
Describing the farmers as his party’s star campaigners, the chief minister said the time had come for them to share how his government had provided benefits to them like free crop insurance, Rythu Bharosa Kendras and free electricity to their crops.
“Your son Jagan has pressed the button 125 times and distributed ₹2.55 lakh crore through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in a transparent manner without corruption. Now, I want the party to visit every household and tell the beneficiaries to press two buttons on EVMs on the election day. One for the MLA and another for the MP,” he said.
He also wanted his party cadre to reiterate how the YSRCP has ensured social justice as 75% of the beneficiaries belong to BC, SC, ST and minority communities,” he said.
Jagan said when his government had delivered both welfare and development and improved the living standards of the poor, there was no need for anybody to for the TDP and its allies. He described the “TDP and its alliance partner Jana Sena Party as non-resident Andhras”.
“Tell the people that ‘fan’ (election symbol of the YSRCP) should always be kept in the house, while the ‘cycle’ (TDP symbol) should be kept out of the house and ‘tea glass’ (Jana Sena Party symbol) should be dumped in the sink,” he said.
Jagan cautioned that Naidu was desperate to come to power by directly joining hands with a national party and striking an indirect deal with another national party, as he was aware that it would be the last election for him and his party would vanish by 2029.
“This election will give you an opportunity to transform the lives of the poor and ensure that underprivileged children are given quality education so that they can compete with elites. This election is an opportunity to completely wipe out the yellow party that practises a capitalist ideology,” the chief minister added.
Hitting back, TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh alleged that Jagan, who was making tall claims of implementing welfare schemes, “was actually fleecing the people with imposing excessive taxes, hiking the prices of electricity, fuel and essential commodities.”
“If he is spending ₹10 on welfare schemes, he is looting 10 times more from the people. The chief minister has in fact discontinued various pro-poor schemes like Anna Canteen, Pelli Kanuka, Chandranna Bima, Videsi Vidhya, Fee Reimbursement etc implemented by the previous TDP government. He stopped pensions for six lakh elderly people. He has done away with as many as 100 schemes,” Lokesh said.
He urged the people not to believe the “false propaganda spread by volunteers that TDP will discontinue all welfare schemes once in power”.