VIJAYAWADA: TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh has accused the State government of duping women from weaker sections by not giving them the benefits promised under the YSR Cheyuta scheme.
He said Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had promised to give Rs 3,000 as monthly pension to women above the age of 45 years from SC, ST, BC and minority communities, and this works out to Rs 36,000 per year, or Rs 1.8 lakh in five years.
However, the government is now trying to give them just Rs 75,000 for five years, causing them a “loss” of Rs 1.05 lakh, Lokesh said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
The women beneficiaries will suffer a loss of Rs 17,250 per year, and Rs 69,000 over the next four years, he added. Lokesh alleged that Jagan has resorted to his own style of “reverse tendering” to deny benefits in the name of ‘Cheyuta’.
The TDP MLC recalled that during his party’s tenure, the government gave ‘Pasupu Kumkuma’ benefits to over 1 crore women, but the present YSRC government is giving welfare benefits to just 23 lakh women, creating differences between different sections of society. Many poor and illiterate women are not getting these benefits because their ages were wrongly recorded in their Aadhaar cards, and the government must give them a chance to make the needed changes and receive their due, he said.
Recalling that Jagan’s father YS Rajasekhara Reddy had said DWCRA women members would be made ‘Lakshadhikaris’ (Lakhpathis) en masse, but gave just Rs 268 crore towards the ‘pavala vaddi’ (25 paise interest) scheme, the TDP leader said that now, Jagan promised to give Rs 3,000 in his election speeches, but the amount was eventually reduced to Rs 1,500 per month. The first year has already passed without the beneficiaries receiving their due, he added.