Tirupati MLA Bhumana Karunakar Reddy has criticised the TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu for promising to continue the volunteer system and hike the remuneration of village and ward volunteers to ₹10,000, describing it as “yet another election stunt”.
In an exclusive chat with The Hindu during his door-to-door election campaign at Akkarampalli in Tirupati on April 10 (Wednesday), Mr. Karunakar Reddy, who is also the Chairman of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), said the promise of Mr. Naidu was a “damage control effort to assuage the ruffled feelings of the volunteers who were not only huge in number but also had won the hearts the people, particularly women, elderly and differently abled pensioners.”
“Realising that support is pouring in for the volunteers who have been barred from distributing cash benefits of welfare schemes until the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) for the elections is in force and outrage is growing against him, Mr. Naidu beat a hasty retreat. He is now making tall declarations but people are in no mood to believe him,” said Mr. Karunakar Reddy.
Juxtaposing the statements made against the volunteers with the ‘Babu Vasthey-Jobu Vasthundi’ slogans of the 2014 elections, the YSRCP leader said,” Only Mr. Naidu’s unemployed son N. Lokesh became a Minister after the elections. The youth of the State can differentiate between deception and trustworthiness.”
Be it providing laptops to students, or waiving DWACRA or farmers’ loans, Mr. Naidu had not honoured a single promise he had made to the people, he alleged.
“Unable to digest the overwhelming response to the welfare schemes introduced by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on which the government has spent over 3.5 lakh crore, Mr. Naidu is crying wolf,” he said.
In response to a question, Mr. Karunakar Reddy brushed aside the allegations made by BJP leader G. Bhanuprakash Reddy, terming them as “baseless”.
Meanwhile, several women groups greeted Mr. Karunakar Reddy by showering floral petals. They also raised slogans for the victory of his son B. Abhinay Reddy, the YSRCP candidate for Tirupati Assembly constituency, as he campaigned at Akkarampalli.
