"Naidu hoodwinked all sections of people, don't fall prey to hollow promises of opposition": YS Jagan

KURNOOL: Setting the agenda for elections in the State in 2024, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has launched a scathing attack on Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N Chandrababu Naidu for hoodwinking all sections of society including the unemployed, women and farmers during his regime.

YS Jagan released Rs 325.02 crore as financial assistance into the accounts of 3,25,020 eligible Rajakas, Nayee Brahmins and tailors across the State as part of the 'Jagananna Chedodu' scheme at Yemmiganur in Kurnool district on Thursday. The Jagananna Chedodu was offered for the fourth consecutive year and a total financial assistance of Rs 1,252.51 crore was credited into the bank accounts of 3.25 lakh eligible beneficiaries across the State under this scheme.

Addressing a public gathering during the event, the Chief Minister alleged, "Chandrababu Naidu always remembers the poor only during elections. He then makes false promises to hoodwink them. Not even a cent of land was given to the poor by Naidu during TDP's regime even in his home turf Kuppam. It is the YSRCP Government which has given house sites for 20,000 women in Kuppam of which construction for around 8,000 houses have begun,” he said.

Pointing out that a raw deal was meted out to women and farmers during the TDP regime, the Chief Minister said that Naidu had duped women and farmers by not implementing the loan waiver schemes after coming into power. "Several self-help groups slipped into deep debts and turned into Non Performing Assets (NPA) due to the inefficiency of Naidu to implement the loan waiver for them. In addition to this, the former Chief Minister also scrapped the zero-interest scheme which resulted in more burden for women groups," he said.

YS Jagan added that the opposition parties were unable to digest the way the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) Government was extending financial assistance to the poor in the State. In the last 52 months, the State Government implemented 29 of its Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes involving an expenditure of Rs 2.38 lakh crore, he said.

The Chief Minister called upon the people not to believe Naidu and his foster son Jana Sena president Pawan Kalyan and fall prey to their hollow promises. “Why did Naidu fail to implement the welfare programmes which the YSRCP Government is implementing now to encourage self employment in the State though the budget is the same. Naidu only implemented the policy of plunder, stash and devour while Pawan Kalyan and a section of the media silently supported him,” he said.

Listing out some of the welfare programmes which would help in the economic empowerment of the weaker sections, YS Jagan said that the State Government so far spent Rs 19,178 crore under YSR Aasara, Rs 14,129 crore under YSR Cheyuta, Rs 982 crore for Nethanna Nestham, Rs. 4,969 crore on Sunna vaddi, Rs. 1,257 crore under EBC Nestham, Rs. 2,956 crore for Jagananna Thodu, Rs 1,302 crore under Vahana Mitra and Rs 538 crore for Matsyakara Bharosa.

YS Jagan said that he was fighting a class war unleashed against him by the TDP, which was anti-poor. The YSRCP Government implemented every poll promise and credited the financial assistance directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries, irrespective of their political affiliations and without corruption. People should stand by the YSRCP and bless them with power only if they were benefited by the welfare schemes, he said.