The Andhra Pradesh government on Saturday credited Rs 15,000 each to the accounts of 95,245 women, amounting to Rs 143 crore under the second phase of the Kapu Nestham scheme. These women who failed to avail the benefits of the scheme when it was launched in June, have now been enabled to apply and receive the funds for economic empowerment. The eligible women hail from the Kapu, Balija, Ontari and Telaga communities and form a significant chunk of the state's population.
Backward Classes Welfare Minister Chelluboiyna Venugopala Krishna oversaw the second phase implementation. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy gave another opportunity to the women who could not avail the scheme in June.
According to Krishna, a total of 3.3 lakh women benefited from the Kapu Nestham scheme, which saw a total amount of Rs 496 crore being credited into the accounts of the beneficiaries.
"Over Rs 5,542 crore was spent on Kapu welfare through Kapu Corporation in the last 16 months, which was way more than the actual amount promised by the CM during elections," said Krishna. He claimed that the Kapus were neglected in the previous Telugu Desam Party's (TDP) regime.
"Chandrababu Naidu promised to provide reservations to Kapus even though it was not in his hands and created a rift between BCs and Kapus, and even tried to benefit from the situation," Krishna claimed.
Meanwhile, Kapu Corporation chairman Jakkampudi Raja claimed that Reddy had fulfilled almost 90% of the poll promises in just 16 months of forming the government. He said BCs, Kapus and minorities were prioritized and highlighted that the chief minister got a first hand account of the plight of poor people during the praja sankalpa yatra (marathon walkathon) and was able to devise schemes for their welfare.
"Naidu used BCs and Kapus for the sake of elections and left them after capturing power and thus people rejected him," he claimed.
Watch a video of the press conference below.