KURNOOL: YSR Congress chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy marked the completion of the first 100 km of his Praja Sankalpa Yatra by storming into Gorigenur village of Kurnool district on Tuesday. He was welcomed by the villagers with a shower of flowers. The yatra passed through the Allagadda constituency where MLC Gangula Prabhakar Reddy and his son Bijendra Reddy (Nani) had done the ground work to ensure that it was a success. Kurnool Parliamentary constituency in-charge Silpa Chakrapani Reddy accompanied Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy during the yatra.
Addressing a public meeting at Chagalamarri, Mr Jagan said that he would lower the pensionable age for SCs, STs and minorities to 45 years. He also promised to increase the pension amount to Rs 2,000 per month. “If our government is formed, we will implement systems that will enable the granting of pensions at the village secretariat itself,” he said. Recalling his late father’s contribution to the development of the district, Mr Jagan said, “Had my father lived, the Gundrevula and Rajolu Reservoirs might have been constructed by this time.” He also accused the government of not releasing Srisailam waters to Rayalaseema despite there being sufficient stores in the reservoir.
He appealed to the college-going youth by saying that he would provide liberal scholarships that would include pocket money. He promised that they would receive Rs 20,000 towards mess charges. Mr Jagan said that by the time his yatra reached its destination in Itchapuram, Srikakulam, the elections would be close. “We can then declare our two-page manifesto distilled from the true aspirations of the people,” he said. He ridiculed the TDP for withdrawing its manifesto from the internet saying that the party had no answers for the public.
He said that he strived to bring in clean politics to the state and shun defection-oriented politics. He said that a manifesto should reflect doable initiatives capable of bringing about a qualitative change in the lives of people. The Praja Sankalpa Yatra began at Idupulapaya on November 6. In the first seven days of the yatra Mr Jagan covered the Pulivendula, Kamalapuram, Jammalamadugu, Proddatur and Mydukur Assembly constituencies. After covering a distance of 93.8 km in Kadapa district, he stepped into Kurnool district on Tuesday.
