YSRC Lambasts Naidu Government for Denying Pensions to Eligible
YSRC Anantapur district president Ananta Venkatarami Reddy accused the state government of cheating genuine beneficiaries
ANANTAPUR: Opposition YSRC Party has condemned the N. Chandrababu Naidu–led NDA coalition government, alleging that it is denying social and disability pensions to lakhs of elderly and differently-abled citizens despite them being eligible.
In this regard, one of the disabled persons attempted suicide near the collectorate.
Addressing media at the district office here on Friday, YSRC Anantapur district president Ananta Venkatarami Reddy accused the state government of cheating genuine beneficiaries. He pointed out that in just 14 months, over 4.15 lakh old-age pensions have been removed.
“From the next month, two lakh disability pensions will also be scrapped,” he warned.
Venkatarami Reddy denounced the coalition government charging that the state government is targeting the most vulnerable through arbitrary re-verification drives by deliberately reducing the disability percentage in certificates to disqualify beneficiaries.
The YSRC leader recalled that the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy government had expanded pension coverage from 30 lakh to 66.34 lakh beneficiaries across 21 categories, including nearly eight lakh disabled persons. In contrast, Chandrababu’s coalition has reduced the number to 62.19 lakh. “The coalition government is systematically eliminating long-time pensioners, while refusing to sanction new ones,” he charged.
Providing Anantapur-specific figures, he said 19,000 of the disabled have been denied pensions, with 9,601 of them removed during August alone so far. 2,314 persons have been shifted out of the disability quota under flimsy pretexts. “One distressed disabled person even attempted suicide outside the Collector’s office. This is nothing short of betrayal of the very people whose votes brought Chandrababu Naidu to power,” Venkatarami Reddy stated.