YSRCP: Only YSR worked for rural uplift

Press Release

Hyderabad, July 23,2013: Ridiculing TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu for his tall claims that he is the champion of Panchayat Raj institutions, YSR Congress has said his statement is full of blatant lies as it was YS Rajasekhar Reddy who strived for rural development.

“Naidu’s statement that YSR was against village development will have no takers, as Naidu carries with him the tag of World Bank Agent while YSR has rolled a green carpet in the rural areas through his pro-farmer schemes,” party MLA Bhumana Karunakar Reddy told reporters here on Monday.

YSR is the face of rural Andhra Pradesh and people in villages identify themselves with him as the Jala Yagnam, Aarogyasri, Fees Reimbursement, Pavala Vaddi and other schemes have immensely benefitted the rural areas.

Naidu on the other hand has the dubious distinction of calling agriculture as a wasteful vocation as it would yield nothing worthwhile. He has been advocating the World Bank policies and was responsible for people moving away from villages.

During TDP term, farmers were driven to indebtedness which led to suicides as the power tariff was high, input subsidies were non existence and Naidu was inclined towards corporatisation leaving the rural areas in lurch.

YSR brought back life into the rural areas, with loan waiver, free power and other welfare schemes. Naidu now claiming that he is the champion of panchayat raj institutions is absurd. During YSR term his party won more than 78 per cent of the local bodies’ elections while TDP could hardly get 30 per cent mandate, he said.

The scenario did not change much even now and the tall claims of Naidu will not be believed by the people as they have experienced the nine-year misrule of Chandrababu Naidu, he said.

People’s memory is not short and they will teach a lesson to the TDP, he said and quoted from Naidu’s book “Mee Kosam” in which he undermined the village and rural institutions. Naidu has questioned the importance of Self Help Groups and necessity of sarpanches in the book and demeaned the elected representatives.

He wanted sarpanches to follow the officials and their instructions and not the other way. Elected representatives were being directed by nodal officers in TDP regime which spelt doom for the villages while YSR has given a new lease of life to the panchayat raj institutions, he said.