Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday said that no other state in the country is providing Rs 3,000 as a pension to 66 lakh beneficiaries.
Interacting with pension beneficiaries at Darsi in Prakasam district as part of his election campaign, he claimed that the YSR Congress party government is spending Rs 2,000 crore per month on social security pensions.
“We are spending Rs 24,000 crore per year. In the last five years, we have spent over Rs 90,000 crore on pensions, which is higher than the other states in the country. If we look at other states on their pension expenditure, Bihar is spending Rs 4,300 crore, Uttar Pradesh Rs 5.160 crore, Karnataka Rs 4,700 crore, and Telangana Rs 7,180 crore,” he said.
On the difference between the current YSRCP government and the previous TDP regime in disbursing the pensions, he said: “In the TDP regime, only 39 lakh beneficiaries received Rs 1,000 as a pension, but two months before the election, they increased it to Rs 2000, but now we have not only increased the amount to Rs 3000 but extended it to 66.34 lakh eligible beneficiaries.”
The Chief Minister said that the government has been providing pensions to over 66 lakh beneficiaries without corruption or discrimination based on caste, religion, and political affiliation. He also noted that his government has taken the volunteer system like nowhere else in the country and delivers welfare measures like pensions to the beneficiaries on their doorstep.
“Chandrababu Naidu often says that he was Chief Minister for 14 years, but he never thought about you (people),” he told old-age pensioners, alleging that the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief was giving false assurances to deceive people as he did in 2014.
“Before the election. people will come up with a manifesto promising good governance but the manifesto would be thrown in the dustbin post-election. But I can’t lie like Chandrababu Naidu and his alliance partners. If we promise something, it will be executed,” he asserted.
“I should say what can be done instead of promising the impossible. There is no other state in the country who can compete with the YSRCP government in terms of providing welfare measures to the poor,” he claimed.
“The cost of Chandrababu Naidu’s promises is exceeding Rs 1.4 lakh crore on top of the current ongoing welfare measures in Andhra Pradesh. They are giving such assurances to deceive everyone just like before the 2014 election,” the YSRCP chief said.
The beneficiaries told the Chief Minister how the pension received by them after the YSRCP came to power helped them overcome financial difficulties.
Narsimha Rao, a beneficiary of Divyang pension, stated that volunteers visit houses of disabled people and enquire about what help they need, not just with pensions but also with certificates or Aadhaar cards, making sure they don’t have to go out.
Another beneficiary Venkatapati stated that during the TDP rule, he used to go to the panchayat office at 4 in the morning to receive the pension. “We were forced to sit amidst mosquitos without chairs. People who came later had to wait for long hours or were asked to come the following day. They used to give out pensions for up to 7 days. After the Jagan government introduced a volunteer system, pensions were delivered on the doorstep,” he said.