TIRUPATI: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday blamed the Opposition TDP and its leaders for the SSC exam paper leaks in the State and said they were doing it out of jealousy only to defame the government.
Addressing a public meeting in Tirupati after crediting Rs 709 crore directly into the mothers’ accounts of 10.85 lakh students under Jagananna Vidya Deevena scheme, the CM pointed out that the paper leaks were reported at educational institutions that are owned by a former minister in the previous TDP regime. He said, “the Opposition party is enacting a drama to defame our government.”
Claiming that TDP leaders were involved in the recent rape incidents that were reported in the State, Jagan slammed the section of media which highlighted them but did not disclose the details of TDP leaders who were involved in the cases. “TDP leaders have been raising a hue and cry over the increasing crimes against women in the State even though they themselves are responsible for them.”
Reiterating his commitment to bringing a change in the education and health sectors, Jagan said, “My father took one step for ensuring better education and health to all and I, his son, have taken four more steps for the same.”
“Education is the only tool that can effectively eradicate poverty and change the life of a person and his family, society, village, state and eventually the country. I am proud that I am a part of the process that will lead to this change,” the CM said.
Terming education the greatest asset that can be given to a child, he pointed out that it is the only thing that cannot be robbed by anyone. He further asserted that his government’s efforts were yielding results as there has been a significant improvement in the admissions to government schools.
Slamming the previous TDP regime, the chief minister said his government is taking care of every aspect of education and the welfare of the students. “Our government even cleared pending dues to the tune of Rs 1,778 crore for colleges for the years 2017-18 and 2018-19. This clearly shows our commitment and priorities,” he explained.
“Did the previous TDP government even think about providing job-oriented education? Did they ever think about providing nutritious food to the students?,” Jagan asked the gathering and said, “I don’t think, they even thought about bilingual textbooks. Chandrababu Naidu wanted the children from the poor to be educated in Telugu medium as he feared that they would start questioning the government, if they pursued education in English-medium.
Stating that his government has given the highest priority to education, the CM said a sum of Rs 10,994 has been spent only for Vidya Deevena and Vasathi Deevena so far. He added that in the last 35 months his government has introduced a plethora of schemes to improve the standards of education.
Listing out the various schemes his government has introduced in education and other sectors, Jagan asked the people if his government has done a better job as against the previous TDP regime, to which the crowd responded in his favour.