Chandrababu, you brag on these lines on a regular basis

Koparru, West Godavari District: During the course of my Padayatra today, people told me how they had been cheated repeatedly by Chandrababu Naidu. They wondered why they were being singled out and tormented in this fashion. A few farmers from Bobbannapalli poured out their troubles to me today. They narrated in detail to me how millers bought their produce, but did not pay them on time. The money is supposed to be paid directly into the farmers’ accounts and these poor farmers had to wait for a month or longer, before they received payment for their hard work through the season.
Withdrawing money from the bank was not an easy task either because banks imposed restriction of Rs.3,000 per day. The farmers felt helpless under these circumstances. As for tenant farmers who worked on lands which they had taken on lease, things were much worse. The money went directly into the account of the landlord and they were left to his mercy. They said that they had to wait for months on end to get their dues. What made their lives miserable was that they borrowed money and the interest, in the intervening period, shot up. They complained that they were being harassed for repayment. I was deeply disturbed by what I heard about their situation. However, Chandrababu Naidu seemed completely unfazed. Such deception came naturally to him.
A group of women, Perumalla Durga, Kodi Mani, Bontha Varalakshmi, told me how they have been cheated by the Chandrababu Naidu government. Under the Bangaru Thalli programme, the girl child would at the age of 21, get the money which would have been deposited in her name in a bank, in phases, over a period of time. Chandrababu Naidu renamed the scheme after he came to power, but the TDP government has not deposited a single rupee into the account of a girl child so far. This is exactly what these women told me, adding that they had never seen such deception in their lives.
I wonder what answers Chandrababu Naidu has to the questions posed by these women! Empty talk of protecting the girl child and securing her future and women’s empowerment is of no use. Forget about acting on these aspects, the TDP government has watered down existing schemes relating to the future of the girl child and women. Is this just? Is this a fair stance?
I was moved by the sorrowful tale of a coconut/toddy worker, who because of unemployment, was forced to go to Kuwait. He told me that when he found it difficult to make a living out of his traditional occupation, believing the words of an agent, he went to Kuwait. “Anna, the Shaikhs there, who took away my passport from me, toyed with me with utter disregard to my life and forced me to pluck dates in a very desolate place in the vast desert. I had to drink water which was given to camels and led a miserable life in the desert. They did not pay me for the work I did and tortured me. Fortunately, with the help of some friends and acquaintances, I could return home,” he said. He expressed his anguish that although he had worked there for several years, he had to return with his bare belongings. “I would not have had to go there in the first place if I could have found a job here,“ he said. I wondered if this TDP government ever thought of providing employment to such people who would never go to other countries in search of jobs if only the Establishment cared for them and created avenues of employment for them.
I have a question for the chief minister—you claim that 20 lakh crore rupees have been invested in Andhra Pradesh and that 40 lakh jobs have been created. You make tall claims about thousands of industries. You brag on these lines on a regular basis. Apart from cheating people, have you taken a single step towards providing employment to youth? People have migrated in hordes to other places because you have totally diluted the scheme meant to prevent migration of skilled labour. Isn’t this a fact?
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