Demanding the TDP government to withdraw its proposal to link free power scheme with Aadhar cards, YSR Congress has said that it would stand by the farmers in the protest against such anti-people policies.
“The government’s proposal is against the Supreme Court ruling that no welfare scheme should be linked with Aadhar card but the TDP Government is trying to downsize the welfare measures to fit the meager budgetary allocations by indiscriminately cutting down the number of beneficiaries,” party spokesperson Vasireddy Padma told reporters here on Thursday.
The proposed move of linking free power to agriculture with Aadhar cards will downsize pump sets by 40 % which will be a blow to rural economy and will further add misery to the already burdened farmer. The anti-farmer policy of the State Government will be questioned and will be taken up at the December 5 dharna at Collector offices state wide along with other anti-people policies of the State, she said.
The paradox lies in the fact that it was the same Chandrababu Naidu who expressed his opposition to welfare schemes to Aadhar cards while he was in the opposition and after assuming power has taken a U-turn in a bid to tally the paltry budgetary allocations with the welfare schemes by downsizing them drastically, she said.
TDP government is using Aadhar card as a weapon to reduce the number of beneficiaries of welfare schemes and after Chandrababu Naidu has taken over 10 lakh pension cards and 23 lakh ration cards were cancelled on some pretext or the other causing insecurity among various sections of the people.
The State has no concern for the farmers, pensioners and other beneficiaries of the welfare schemes on one hand and at the same time does not practice austerity measures but only preaches. The trips to Singapore and other lavish expenses are unabated for the ruling party leaders while it is serious downsizing when it comes to farmers, pensioners and others, she said.
After Chandrababu Naidu has taken over, the farmers slipped into distress and in Ananthapuram district alone 17 farmers committed suicide during the past four months due to indebtedness. Pensions and ration cards were weeded out heavily and contract workers lost their jobs in large numbers.
YSR Congress will stand with the farmers and other affected sections and will protest against the anti-people policies of the Government at Collector Offices in all the districts on December 5 and we demand that the Government should withdraw the proposal of linking free power supply scheme with Aadahar, she said.