VIJAYAWADA: The direction given by the Election Commission of India (ECI) barring volunteers from distribution of social security pensions has become a major issue with the ruling YSRC and the Opposition parties blaming each other for the plight of pensioners due to the delay in payment.
Besides directing the State government not to use volunteers for distribution of cash benefits under any scheme, including pensions, the ECI has also ordered that handheld devices like mobiles and tablets provided to volunteers be deposited with the District Election Officers till the lifting of Model Code of Conduct.
It suggested that the government make alternative arrangements for the distribution of benefits of ongoing schemes through DBT or through regular government staff.
The ECI direction has sparked a war of words between the ruling and the opposition parties for the past three days. As the distribution of pensions commenced on April 3, videos and photos of the aged beneficiaries waiting under the scorching sun at the village/ward secretariats went viral on the social media.
In the absence of volunteers, the beneficiaries were asked to visit their respective secretariats to get their pension. Citing the hardship of senior citizens in visiting the secretariats and waiting for their turn under the scorching sun, YSRC chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and other leaders blamed TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu for it.
During an informal interaction with TNIE, some TDP leaders admitted that the party might suffer some damage with the YSRC blaming the opposition party responsible for the pension delay.
“Though the party has taken damage control measures, we are not sure whether the people will get convinced with our version or not,” they felt.
On the other hand, the YSRC asserted that a majority of pensioners are strongly believing that the TDP and other opposition parties are responsible for their plight. It argued that the ECI took the decision following a complaint made by Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar of Citizens for Democracy, whom they said is a loyalist to TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu. The TDP countered the charge stating that the YSRC government had intentionally troubled the pensioners without distributing the pensions at their doorstep despite having the official machinery.
The volunteer system was opposed by the Opposition parties as they are of the opinion that all the volunteers are the ruling YSRC followers. However, there is a change in the tone of the opposition in recent times. During his public meetings, Naidu has reiterated that the volunteer system will be continued in the coming NDA government.