Dharna against TDP failures: Jagan

Hyderabad, Nov 4: To protest against the indifference of TDP government towards farmers, women groups, pensioners and failing to provide adequate relief to Hudhud Cyclone affected people, YSR Congress would hold state-wide dharnas at all mandal headquarters on November 5.

“The dharnas are to highlight the failures of TDP Government in meeting its commitment to waive loans of farmers and women groups besides implementing the pension scheme as promised during electioneering and the inefficiency of the State in addressing the Cyclone affected people,” Party president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy told reporters here on Tuesday.

The dharna programme will be held in the first week for three months to mount pressure on the State Government that is trying to deceive the people by talking tall and drastically downsizing the budget allocations for the welfare schemes. On December 5 the second dharna programme will be at all the District Collector offices and in January the programme will be intensified and there will be a two-day hunger strike in Godavari districts on January 6-7 in which I will participate,” he said.

The protest programme will highlight the failures of Chandrababu Naidu government and the anti-people policies it has been pursuing. It is nearly six months, he has taken over the reins of the State but not a single poll promise has been fulfilled, farmers, women, students and all sections are left in the lurch.

Before and during the elections he talked big that all the agriculture and DWACRA groups loans would be waived, pensions would be given to all and one job for one house would be provided failing which, unemployment stipend of Rs 2,000 would be paid. “Not a single promise was fulfilled and farmers and women groups have become defaulters and are forced to pay penal interest as they did not repay the loans believing Chandrababu Niadu’s promises.

The TDP President has written to the Election Commission on April 11 that he is fully aware of the arithmetic involved in the loan waiver scheme and he has worked out the feasibility of the scheme. The same thing was repeatedly told during electioneering, illuminated hoardings were set up highlighting the promises and the feasibility and pamphlets were also widely distributed to that effect, besides releasing advertisements in media.

After assuming power, he has totally ignored his promises and even did not honour the five files he has signed on the day of swearing-in. He has been trying to find ways and means to downsize the quantum at every available opportunity. Though the State Level Bankers’ Committee meeting, which he has chaired, announced that the agriculture loans work out to Rs 87,612 cores while DWACRA loans amount to Rs 14,000 crores which sum up to Rs 1.1 lakh crores, he has just allocated RS 5,000 crores towards loan waiver in the budget and is boasting that he has cleared 20 % or loans which is an utter fallacy.

The penal interest on the 1.1 lakh crores itself work out to Rs 28,000 crores for two years while he has washed his hands off by allocating just Rs 5,000 crores. This is deceiving the farmers who have believed him and did not repay the loans and have become defaulters. They are now not even eligible for crop insurance.

DWACRA women groups are bearing the brunt of his deception as their savings are being attached by the banks in lieu of the default and the Chief Minister has been talking about them in a demeaning manner.

While the 43, 11, 686 pension cards need a budget of Rs 3,650 crores from October to March ending, Chandrababu Naidu has earmarked just Rs 1,300 crores which shows his intention of downsizing all the welfare schemes. The relief and rehabilitation works during the recent Hudhud Cylcone were paltry and the Government was found wanting on many counts.

To protest against these inefficient measures we will be holding dharnas at all mandal headquarters tomorrow and next month we will picket Collector office and in January there will be a relay hunger strike, he said.

On Srisailam waters: YSR Congress stand on Srisailam project has been very clear and ardently favours of maintaining the 854 feet level at the reservoir which ensures water to Pothireddypadu project and water to Rayalaseema.

Chief Ministers of both the States have exploited the waters and have no concern for the arid Rayalaseema region. When the water level was 887 feet Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao from the left and Chandrababu Naidu from the right went on a spree of hydel power generation. Once the level fell to 858 in 15 days, TDP Government started making noise and became party to the controversy. TDP government has mismanaged the irrigation issue which is evident from allowing Nagarjuna sagar water to flow into the sea, he said.

On the Party affairs in Telangana, he said, “we have a working president for Telangana state and he has been doing his job by taking up public issues at various forums.”

There is a power deficit in Telangana and the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has purchased 1,000 MW of power from Chhattisgarh but it yields no immediate relief as there is no way of transmission. It may take a couple of years for developing the infrastructure. Instead, if the power purchased from the Chhattisgarh is swapped with NTPC the same quantum of power can be drawn from Ramagundam in lieu of the deal. The same is the case with the second phase of Simhadri Thermal power plant, he said.

Law and Order: Condemning the highhandedness of police in the Nandyal incident, he said, TDP government has been resorting to vindictive politics. On the pretext of spar among councillors, official machinery is being misused and a case of attempt to murder has been opened against Bhuma Nagi Reddy. As three cases are necessary to open a history (rowdy) sheet, three cases were booked in the same incident which is ridiculous. The state has been playing vindictive politics and targeting popular leaders.