“Do the lives of 1.10 lakh Anganwadis in the State not cost the palace that you have built on Rishikonda for your luxurious life,” Kommareddy Pattabhiram, spokesman of the TDP, asked Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy,.
Pattabhiram told media persons here that the entire expenditure to meet the genuine demands of Anganwadis, municipal workers, the staff members of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the 108-104 ambulance employees is just peanuts compared to the thousands of crores that Jagan has been spending for his affluent life. How are the provisions of the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) invoked and how can they be canecharged when all of them are fighting for their genuine demands and for implementation of the promises made to them, Pattabhiram asked.
The TDP spokesman is of the strong opinion that the entire expenditure to meet the genuine demands of the Anganwadis do not cost even the cost of the Rishikonda palace that Jagan has built for his lavish life. Is it not a fact that Jagan has promised Anganwadis during the 2019 elections campaign that he would revise the wages of the Anganwadis to see to it that they will be Rs 1,000 more than than their counterparts in Telangana, Pattabhi questioned Jagan.
“The current monthly wages of Anganwadis in Telangana is Rs 13,600 and Jagan, as promised, should have revised these wages to Rs 14,600 but the fact is that only Rs 11,500 is being paid to them now,” Pattabhi pointed out. The annual burden on the exchequer is merely Rs 395 cr if the wages of the 1.10 lakh Anganwadis are revised as promised, he pointed out and said that Jagan has spent a whooping Rs 433 cr to build the palace on Rishikonda for his luxurious life.
It is really atrocious that the 108-104 employees who save several lives everyday are not being paid ontime, the TDP spokesman said and asked why Rs 188 cr being paid to the Aurobindo Pharma, who is Jagan’s binami, in the name of maintenance of 108 ambulances. How Ramayapatnam Port and solar parks worth thousands of crores are illegally being handed over to Aurobindo Pharma which is not paying even the salaries of the employees ontime, he asked.
The Centre bears 60 per cent of the total expenditure of the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and the State Government’s share is merely 40 per cent but still the salaries of the staff members are not being paid by Jagan, the TDP spokesman said. The entire State has been experiencing agitations, dharnas and strikes by different sections as all of them feel that they have been deceived by the Chief Minister, he said.
Pattabhiram felt that Jagan is not conceding the demands of these agitating employees not because of lack of funds but because he is not willing to meet their demands. The people are soon going to punish him severely as he is responsible for the woes of all these sections, Pattabhiram added.
