Season of freebies just got longer in Andhra Pradesh

VIJAYAWADA: The ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) released its election manifesto on Saturday. The jumbo document touches upon all sections of society.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu while releasing the manifesto said it was a vision document for all-round development of the state. He also ridiculed the YSRC manifesto, terming it as shallow.



The manifesto aims at winning the confidence of farmers and women, with two flagship programmes which have already been introduced. Naidu announced Rs 15,000 monetary benefit under Annadata Sukhibhava scheme to all farmers, including tenant farmers. He also announced the Pasupu-Kumkuma scheme which will give Rs 10,000 to women in self-help groups for the next five years. Around 94 lakh women will be benefit. He also promised to give smart phones to all women in self-help groups.

Giving priority to welfare schemes, Naidu announced that pensioners will get Rs 3,000 and the age for pension eligibility will be reduced from 65 to 60 years. Under Ammaki Vandanam programme , which currently does not have any monetary benefit, the chief minister announced that mothers who send their children to schools will be given Rs 18,000 every year.

Naidu also announced that monetary benefit to unemployed youth under Yuvanestam scheme will be increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 if TDP is re-elected. He also said the eligibility for getting benefit will be Intermediate pass. He also promised to give laptops to students who continue studies after Intermediate.

Announcing universal health for all, Naidu announced free health care for all families who are below income tax limit level. He ridiculed universal health scheme for all if the bill is more than Rs 1,000 announced by YSRC. According to the chief minister, the state is already implementing the scheme for free healthcare. He added that the opposition leader does not have knowledge on what is being implemented.

According to Naidu, the manifesto was prepared for development with sustainability. He claimed that Andhra Pradesh is the only state which made river interlinking a reality. “We are now planning to interlink five major rivers in the state with an aim to provide water to 2 crore acres of land” he said.

Emphasising on job creation, Naidu said they are taking all measures so that Rs 15.48 lakh crore worth of investments by various companies which have entered into MoUs with the government will be grounded to create 30 lakh jobs.

Naidu alleged that the YSRC do not have any vision for development of Amaravati and hence there is no mention of it in their manifesto. “We are committed to develop Amaravati as one of the best five cities in the world,” he said. He also accused YSRC of colluding with TRS.