On day 1 of the YSR Congress Party's 1st plenary session at Idupulapaya, Y S Jaganmohar Reddy announced a slew of measures for the poor if voted into power.
On day 1 of the 1st plenary session of the newly-established YSR Congress Party, at Idupulapaya (Kadapa district) party President Y S Jaganmohan Reddy's promises to the cheering crowds were the stuff of a fairy tale manifesto.
The plenary, by the way, was attended by about a dozen Congress MLAs and 2 Congress MPs.
The plenary commenced after tributes were paid to YSR's samabhi at Idupulapaya, by Jagan, YSR's widow Vijayamma, and others.
Brandishing the weapon of populism, Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, son of the late Congress leader and CM Y S Rajasekhara Reddy criticized the ruling Congress government in AP, and announced a slew of measures that he would undertake if voted into power.
The list reads like an extension of Jagan's populist father's pro-poor agenda. Jagan has said that YSR understood poverty, and claimed that he himself, during his Odarpu Yatras, had seen poverty from closer quarters than any other politician had.
Jagan has promised he will get 1 lakh pucca houses constructed. He has said he will put into action at least a 1,000 "104" ambulances with 2 doctors each, one ambulance per mandal. A new service "103" will also be started, he said.
A "102" service will be launched to provide veterinary services to domestic cattle, he said.
There will be a special "Farmers' Budget" set aside as part of the Budget, and farmers have been promised 9 hours of free power everyday.
Poor handicapped persons will receive Rs. 1,000 a month to cover their needs. The poor, in general, will receive interest-free loans, he said.
Jagan said it is his responsibility to educate every child belonging to a poor family, "from LKG to PG".
Jagan concluded with a vague-sounding but strong assurance that he would also strive to shut down belt shops in rural areas, since liquor consumption has led to the ruin of many families.