YSRCP Dharna In AP On Dec 5; To Intensify Stir

Leader of Opposition Y S Jaganmohan Reddy said that the YSR Congress would hold dharnas at all District Collector offices on December 5 to voice the concerns and ire of the people who felt cheated as the TDP government has failed in implementing its loan waiver scheme and had been downsizing welfare schemes to match its meager budgetary allocations.

"Normally it takes a couple of years for the anti-incumbency factor to set in for any government, but it is widespread and very strong in Andhra Pradesh within just six months as the TDP Government is pursuing anti-people policies. We will be the voice of the people and will hold protests across the State with the affected sections joining us in large numbers," he told reporters on Tuesday.

Jagan said that his Party would ask the Chief Minister pointed questions on behalf of the people, and that the agitation would be further intensified if the State continued to neglect farmers, women's groups, pensioners and other sections.

"The deception in loan waiver scheme is very clear as the agriculture loans account for Rs 87,000 crores and farmers are being forced to pay penal interest at the rate of 14% since the budgetary allocation for waivers is very meagre and the Chief Minister actually boasts that he has cleared 20% of the loans," Jagan alleged.

The farmers were not eligible for crop insurance either and were into hardships, he said, noting that there were 84 deaths due to indebtedness.

DWACRA groups had also turned defaulters as they too did not repay loans totalling Rs 14,000 crores believing the poll promises of Chandrababu Naidu, and were now in deep trouble, he said.

On the pensions front as well Naidu had drastically cut down the number of beneficiaries, Jagan alleged. While the actual beneficiaries were 43,11,686, the amount allocated in the budget was less than one-third of what was required, which made the Chief Minister's intentions very clear, he stated. He was expectedly slashing the number of beneficiaries to suit the paltry amount he had allocated in the budget, Jagan said.

When asked about Telangana, he said that the YSR Congress was the first Party to raise the famers' issue, and that the Party leaders had met the Governor.

"We will be with the farmers and affected sections, and fight for their causes in both the States," he said. (INN)