Andhra Pradesh

TDP launches ‘selfie challenge’ against YSRCP govt, CM Jagan dubs it ‘publicity stunt’

CM Jagan and his government’s fact check wing have refuted Naidu’s allegations of delayed housing projects and denial of pension to a woman with disability.
Chandrababu Naidu's selfie in front of government housing project
Chandrababu Naidu's selfie in front of government housing project
Written by:
TNM Staff
Published on: 

Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the main opposition party in Andhra Pradesh, has been organising a series of social media campaigns in recent months to highlight alleged misgovernance by the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government. After campaigns such as #IdhemKharma (what is this misfortune) and #GanjaOdhuBro (say no to ganja bro), the TDP recently launched #SelfieChallengeToJagan. Urging supporters to share selfies depicting stalled development projects, failed welfare schemes and other issues in the state, former Chief Minister Naidu himself also shared two selfies – alleging slow progress in government housing projects in one case, and denial of pension to a person with disability in another. Chief Minister Jagan, however, has dismissed the challenge as a ‘publicity stunt’.

Initiating the challenge on April 7, Naidu had shared a selfie standing in front of houses constructed by the Andhra Pradesh Township and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (APTIDCO) in Nellore under the previous TDP government. Stating that thousands of TIDCO houses were built for low-income families eligible for government housing in Nellore alone by the TDP government, he asked Jagan how many houses he had built since coming to power. 

“Look... @ysjagan! These are the thousands of TIDCO houses built in Nellore alone for the poor during our government's tenure. Evidence of lakhs of TIDCO houses built in the state! How many houses have you built in these four years [since coming to power]? Where are the houses you mentioned? Can you answer?,” Naidu said. 

Later on Thursday, April 13, Naidu tweeted a selfie with a young woman with disability, whose pension had been recently discontinued after her family’s monthly electricity consumption exceeded 300 units, the upper limit to be eligible for the scheme. “Is this your humanity, to deny pension to a woman with 90% disability in the name of rules? In fact, it’s your government that is disabled, not her,” Naidu wrote. 

CM Jagan reacted to the selfie challenge on Wednesday, April 12, and dismissed it as a “publicity stunt”. Addressing a public meeting at Markapuram in Prakasam district, Jagan asked Naidu if he was posing for selfies to show how he had allegedly exploited people through "corrupt" Janma Bhoomi committees during his regime, and foisted false cases against minorities. Janma Bhoomi committees were launched by TDP to disburse welfare schemes to beneficiaries at the village level. After coming to power, CM Jagan had abolished these committees, scrapped or renamed a few existing welfare programmes, and also announced several new schemes. 

"Are you posing for selfies and throwing challenges just because you had diverted the funds that should have gone to the people?...Is it for cheating people on waiver of DWCRA (Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas) loans, Sunna Vaddi (interest-free) loans and Rythu Bharosa (financial assistance for farmers), pursuing the policy of plunder, stash and devour with the support of your friendly media between 2014 and 2019?" Jagan asked.

Claiming that the YSRCP government distributed, through direct benefit transfers, a whopping Rs 2,07,000 crore in the last 45 months to lakhs of beneficiaries in a transparent manner, he urged people to question the TDP chief on why he was unable to distribute funds effectively during his rule. He appealed to the people not to believe "the false propaganda being spread by TDP-friendly media".

"You are my only strength and I depend on you and god. I call upon you to go by the yardstick of the welfare benefits you have received and become the soldiers of the party and work for its victory in the next elections," he told people at the meeting. 

Meanwhile, the state government’s Fact Check Wing has responded to the complaint of discontinued disability pension. It stated that the woman’s pension was discontinued for two reasons – exceeding the ceiling on electricity consumption, and her family’s ownership of various urban properties larger than 1,000 square feet – both of which made her ineligible for the scheme. The Fact Check Wing also claimed that the amount of pensions disbursed had doubled under the YSRCP government. It also mentioned that her family members have received benefits under the pension scheme till September 2021, and assistance under the YSR Cheyutha scheme (for SC/ST/OBC/minority women aged 45 to 60 years). 

With IANS inputs 

Follow TNM's WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.

Andhra Pradesh
Politics
The News Minute
www.thenewsminute.com