‘Andhra CM playing politics over pension-delay deaths’: TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu

VIJAYAWADA : Accusing YSRC president and Chief Minister of playing dirty politics over the death of elderly persons who were waiting for pension, TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu lashed out at YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for blaming the opposition party for the delay in disbursement of pensions.

Naidu’s comments came amidst reports that an elderly woman succumbed to a sunstroke while going to the secretariat to collect her pension at Gangur in Krishna district.

After a one-day break, the former chief minister resumed his Praja Galam public meetings on Wednesday.

Addressing a gathering at Kothapet near Amalapuram in Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema district, Naidu lambasted Jagan for politicising the volunteers’ issue.

Asserting that he was never opposed to the volunteer system, he explained, “I am only against the involvement of volunteers in politics. I had appealed to the volunteers to stay neutral and promised them that the upcoming NDA government would do justice to them.”

Accusing the YSRC of forcing the volunteers to resign, Naidu alleged that the ruling party was trying to make them party workers.

“The Election Commission had made it clear that government employees should distribute the pensions, not the volunteers, who are not even full-time employees,” he pointed out.

Claiming that Jagan acquired sympathy over the killing of his uncle YS Vivekananda Reddy and also by staging the rooster knife attack, the TDP chief said, “Now, his actions are leading to elderly people dying and he is blaming us for it only to gain sympathy and malign the Opposition.”

“Jagan killed his uncle with an axe and won the elections due to sympathy in 2019,” Naidu alleged and said, “Jagan’s sister revealed that YS Vivekananda Reddy was killed for suggesting that Sharmila should contest the elections. Are such people even eligible to rule the State?”

Pointing out that former chief minister NT Rama Rao was the one who started the pension scheme with Rs 35, he said, “After I became the chief minister in 2014, I hiked the pension to Rs 2,000 from Rs 200. Jagan barely increased it by Rs 1,000, that too by adding Rs 250 each year. If I had won in 2019, I would have given Rs 3,000 as pension from the first month itself.”

Naidu’s advice to govt on pension disbursal

The TDP supremo said, “There are 1.26 lakh employees at the village and ward secretariats. Every village has 45 pension holders on an average. If 20 pensions are delivered in a day, the entire pension distribution process will be completed in two days.” Further, he promised that the TDP, once elected, will give Rs 4,000 as pension at the doorstep of the beneficiaries