Praja Sankalpa Yatra Diary, Day 36: Political Bias In Choosing Welfare Scheme Beneficiaries Unpardonable

Gotluru, Anantapur district: As soon as my padayatra began today, a large number of women wished me well with the traditional harathi. Jyothi, Narayanamma and Obulamma, who were part of the team of women, told me that they had stopped taking up employment guarantee jobs as they were not being paid. When I probed further, they said they were not being paid for the last seven to eight months. After toiling hard for a week, what they get is a meager Rs 100. “What is the whole point of going there and toiling, when you are paid a pittance?” they asked me. I was shocked. Why are the wages so low? This one example is enough to understand the manner in which this all-important scheme is being implemented. Duping women is downright despicable. This is no better than fleecing. Who will protect the citizens when the Government itself oppresses them?

As I forged ahead, I could see scores of people come rushing to meet me. This has been a familiar scene all along my yatra. As my yatra was about to touch the 500-km mark, I was overwhelmed by the trust and faith that the people have in me. How can I ever repay this debt of gratitude?

Along the way, farmers Thimma Reddy and Sankara Reddy of Brahmasamudram met me. They were part of the Dryland Horticulture project under the Employment Guarantee Scheme. All the 16 farmers had dug pits to plant mango saplings. But, only 14 of them were given the saplings and were permitted to plant them. Both Thimma Reddy and Sankara Reddy were denied saplings as the Janma Bhoomi committee did not accord permission. They lamented digging the pits saying they wouldn't have done so had they known about this beforehand. Now, that the season is gone, their hopes of raising a mango orchard are shattered. Isn’t this a classic example of government’s discriminatory attitude? Can there be a better example of playing favourites?

Obulesu, a differently-abled person met me with tears in his eyes. I consoled him. He said his family used to eke out a living by collecting toddy palm seeds or Tati Munjalu. He broke his back after falling off a tree and can’t walk now. Doctors have certified him as 90 per cent disabled. Yet, he has not been getting pension. “I am being denied pension because they think I am a YSRCP supporter. Can discrimination be this worse?” he asked. This is unpardonable. Isn’t it inhuman that the Government is not showing any mercy on this person?

Should there be petty politicking even in things like pension and mango sapling? If the governance is so crassly partisan, how can the poor get justice? How can the poor benefit if the government stops adopting a humanitarian approach to things? The real satisfaction can be derived only when the needy get the required help regardless of their political affiliation. This is the philosophy that I firmly believe in. Without this philosophy, the life has no meaning.

Finally, I have a question for the chief minister. Are the beneficiaries of welfare scheme selected on the basis of eligibility criteria or their political affiliations? Why are Janma Bhoomi committees, which have no legal sanction, deciding who should get the benefit of Government welfare schemes? Is it justified to deny benefits to someone simply because they do not subscribe to your party ideology?