Jagan promises 3,000 monthly pension to senior citizens

Tirupati: In a bid to outpace the TDP government, which has announced a slew of welfare measures in the last few weeks, YSRCP president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy announced that old age pension would be increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 and all the women aged above 45 years from SC, ST, BC and minority communities would be paid Rs 75,000 in phases through respective corporations if his party comes to power in the elections. Similarly, he also promised payment of Rs 12,500 in May every year as agriculture investment to farmers.

The YSRCP president, who launched the state-wide programme of interaction with party polling booth committee members named Samara Sankharavam at Renigunta here on Wednesday, blamed Congress and BJP for betraying the people of the state by denying Special Category Status (SCS).

“While Congress-led UPA government provided the knife during the division of the state, the BJP government stabbed the people of AP with it by denying SCS. In this situation, we need not to align with any national party. We will go it alone in the upcoming elections,” he said. Jagan told the party cadres that all the “bogus” cases registered by police against them ‘under the pressure from TDP” would be withdrawn.

Coming down heavily on Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, the YSRCP chief said Naidu was trying to cheat the people by wearing black shirts and harping on SCS just before polls after hobnobbing with BJP and Modi for four years. He reminded that Modi and Naidu had promised SCS to the state in the temple city itself and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan was also a witness to it.

He asked his party polling booth committee members to be highly vigilant and alert to thwart the attempts by TDP to cheat rural people. Jagan assured his party activists that he would take care of their economic and social development and welfare in future. He called upon them to create awareness among people on the alleged failures of the TDP government in implementing welfare schemes for the poor.

Jaganmohan Reddy accused TDP leaders of enrolling 59 lakh bogus votes for winning the forthcoming elections and deleting 60 lakh names of YSRCP followers in the name of surveys. At the end of the programme, Jaganmohan Reddy answered a few questions posed by party cadres through paper slips.

Earlier, he interacted with neutrals in PLR Kayalana Mandapam at Thanapalli of Tirupati rural mandal. No media were allowed at the meet and only neutrals who were identified by Jagan election strategist Prashant Kishore team in advance were admitted. Though the neutrals were issued special ID cards by the team, but before the start of the Jagan meeting, the venue was occupied by the party supporters.

Former minister and Punganur YSRCP MLA Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, former MP P Mithun Reddy, Bumana Karunakar Reddy, Chandragiri, Pileru, Puthalapattu, Nagari and MadanaPalli MLAs C BhaskarReddy, C RamchandraReddy, Dr Sunil, R K Roja, Dr Desai Tippa Reddy participated in the programme.