After ₹3,000 welfare pension, YSR Congress president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy released the second weapon from his arsenal targeting the unemployed youth and the farmers.

At the well-attended ‘Anna Pilupu’ and ‘Samara Sankharavam’ programmes conducted back-to-back here on Thursday, he promised to provide a job for every 50 families.

“The government did not care to fill the 2.4 lakh posts lying vacant. Based on an in-depth study, we will provide 10 jobs to local villagers in the village secretariats and one for every 50 families through the village volunteers. All government schemes, including those promised under ‘Navaratnalu’, will be delivered at your doorsteps,” he said, to a query from an advocate Jagadeeshwar Reddy on non-filling up of posts in the present regime. Mr. Jagan promised to bring a law to reserve 75% of jobs in all industries to local candidates.

Lakshmi, a member of the Chaitanya Mahila Society and one of the 350 village-level neutral influencers, quizzed him on his plans to save farmers from ‘extortion’ by middlemen, for which he cited the vast price difference between crop procured from farmer and the same sold in a super market. The same was prominent with mango farmers in Chittoor district, he said, naming two industrialist-turned-TDP politicians running the processing industry, offering the least price to farmers.

On the Kadapa steel plant, he pooh-poohed the foundation stone laying ceremony as an ‘eyewash’ event and assured to shoulder the responsibility of completing the plant.

“We will start the work within 3-6 months of coming to power and complete it in three years.” Mr. Jagan plans to address five lakh booth-level workers across the State during the ‘Samara Sankharavam’ in district-wise sessions.