Tadepalli, March 4: YSRCP Employees and Pensioners Wing President Nalamaru Chandrasekhar Reddy condemned the police crackdown on Anganwadi workers who were peacefully protesting for implementation of election promises. Speaking at the YSRCP central office in Tadepalli, he said the government has been misleading Anganwadi workers for nearly two years despite Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu promising wage hikes and gratuity payments as per the Supreme Court judgment immediately after coming to power.
He said Anganwadi workers had been assured of talks with the government the previous night, but instead police dismantled protest tents and carried out arrests in the early hours. Around 4:30 a.m., hundreds of male police personnel stormed the protest site, dragged women who were asleep in tents, pushed them into police vans, and destroyed tents, flex banners, and placards.
Chandrasekhar Reddy said the workers had organised the “Chalo Vijayawada” protest after repeatedly submitting representations and holding peaceful demonstrations demanding implementation of promises such as wage increases and gratuity payments. Instead of responding positively, the government deployed police force.
He alleged that police surrounded the protest site with rope barricades, prevented Anganwadi workers from leaving, and detained many without allowing them to collect their bags or mobile phones. When they asked why they were being arrested or where they were being taken, no explanation was given. Several workers suffered injuries in the scuffle, and many complained that they were not even allowed to use toilets after being detained. The incident, he said, has triggered outrage across the country.
Recalling past incidents, he said Chandrababu had earlier suppressed Anganwadi protests in undivided Andhra Pradesh, including an episode where protesters were allegedly trampled by mounted police. He said the present action shows the government is trying to crush democratic movements through police force.
Chandrasekhar Reddy said Anganwadi workers, teachers, employee unions, and pensioners are all angry with the government for failing to fulfil promises. He pointed out that the government removed the PRC chairman appointed during the YSRCP regime but has not constituted a new Pay Revision Commission for two years. He also criticised the failure to implement the promise of paying salaries on the first of every month and said nearly Rs 35,000 crore in dues owed to employees remain unpaid.
He said the government is willing to allocate thousands of crores worth of land to benami companies at throwaway prices but is ignoring the problems of employees and welfare workers. Chandrasekhar Reddy warned that if the government does not immediately implement the promises made to Anganwadi workers and employees, it will have to face serious consequences.
*Red Book rule replaced the Constitution*
