VIJAYAWADA: TDP supremo and Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu launched the party membership drive at a programme held at the TDP Central Office, Mangalagiri on Saturday. After renewing his membership, Naidu gave a call to rank and file of the party to take membership drive on a record scale across the State. The membership drive will be carried out for 45 days.
Describing the TDP as a political university, Naidu said that the roots of several Telugu politicians in the present era were in the TDP. Highlighting various programmes launched by the TDP governments for the people and also the welfare activities implemented for the party activists, Naidu said that people will get due recognition and respect by becoming a party member.
Maintaining that the entire Telugu community across the globe got recognition only after the formation of the TDP, Naidu said the anecdote of Telugus can be explained before and after the formation of the TDP. TDP founder NT Rama Rao after becoming the chief minister of the combined Andhra Pradesh, brought recognition to the State across the globe, Naidu recalled.
“Ours is the only party that conducts special classes for the activists and always strives to promote activists as leaders,” he asserted. TDP is the only political party in the country that provides insurance cover to party members, he said with Rs 100 membership fee, people can get Rs 5 lakh accidental insurance claim.
Stating that all the party leaders have the bounden responsibility to hand over the TDP to future generations, Naidu said that several leaders had passed comments that the time of the TDP is over but the fact is that the time of such persons who passed these comments is already over. “We have already exhibited our strength in the recent elections in the State by giving priority to all the communities. It is the combined victory for the TDP, the Jana Sena and the BJP which fought the polls jointly,” he said.
Six fresh policies have been adopted to achieve the goal of ‘job first’ and the pensions of all sections have been revised immediately after assuming power despite having financial constraints, he said.
Free cooking gas cylinders scheme is being implemented from Deepavali while the garbage tax, the 217 GO and the Swarnakara (goldsmith) corporation have been revoked, the Chief Minister said. Mentioning various other welfare programmes implemented in the past four months, Naidu said that developmental works worth Rs 4,500 crore have been launched in rural areas while the works in the capital city of Amaravati will begin on full scale in December. The phase-1 of Polavaram project will be completed in another two years and industrial corridors are being set up at Orvakallu and Kopparthi.
Land has already been assigned for the railway zone and house-sites measuring two cents in urban areas and three cents in rural areas are going to be allotted to the beneficiaries soon, the Chief Minister said.
Promising the party activists to legally resolve all the false cases registered against them, Naidu suggested the TDP activists reach the people at the grassroots rather than making rounds to him. Only those who work hard will be given proper recognition, Naidu maintained.
“Some leaders are voluntarily coming forward for lifetime membership in the party. We have spent Rs 120 crore till now for the party activists while Rs 102 crore insurance amount is paid for 5,113,” Naidu said.