*YSRCP slams Naidu govt for weakening Secretariat system and targeting employees*

Tadepalli, Sept. 29: YSRCP leader and former Minister  Chelluboina Venu Gopalakrishna condemned police action, arrests and suspensions against protesting Village and Ward Secretariat employees. He accused Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu of trying to weaken the system created under Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Venu Gopalakrishna said the network took administration to villages and wards, provided jobs to around 1.34 lakh people and resolved nearly 12 crore public grievances in five years. Around 85,000 employees belong to weaker sections and minority communities, he said. He cited their service during the Covid crisis.

Rejecting claims that the system had no job charts or rules, he said G.O. Ms. Nos. 110 and 217 established it, while later orders specified employees’ duties and promotion channels. He accused the present government of cutting more than 500 services, shifting staff under rationalisation and harassing employees who raise concerns. Secretariat staff were used during the Vijayawada floods, he said, despite ministers now denying clear job roles.

Recalling the Bashirbagh police firing on farmers, he said the latest crackdown showed Naidu’s repressive approach. He warned that employees and voters would answer the government in local elections.