It was the ruling aaliance government of Andhra Pradesh which, under the leadership of the head of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee, YS Sharmila, received a scathing attack by a woman. She attacked Chandrababu Naidu’s “Super Six” initiatives launched for the upcoming Assembly elections, saying that these have not been considered at all. Sharmila attacked with a sarcastic remark on the emergence of new “Six Policies,” portraying them as mere substitutes for the original scheme. Speaking at a press conference in Vijayawada, she said they had expected at least one of the Super Six initiatives to be approved by the government in the new cabinet meeting. She also criticized the communication the government made to women, which instead of bringing them good news was just a “gesture.”
It claims that “The state needs investment and jobs.” The ₹30 lakh crores in investments would be poured, and 20 lakh jobs provided, with Babu making the slogan ‘Job First’. But one pertinent question still is: Does Babu even bother to do any of it? After all, in 2014, he had touted to make Amaravati a modern Singapore using three dimensional graphics to try and etch the vision better. Now, his commitments are at par with what he had promised when he started. An old story being re-pitched again? That’s like the narrator: familiar.
He is just trying to package old promises in a new bundle. To date, there exist humongous questions within people about whether such promises would be fulfilled at all. However, we can appreciate one nice thing: the ‘Job First’ slogan seems to be a good idea. Unemployment has gained a critical point in the state and millions of youths are being forced to shift their locale in search of employment. The state failed to introduce industrial development for the past ten years, which compelled the youths to seek job opportunities outside the state. Unemployment remains the biggest challenge for the state. Just the other day, Chandrababu declares his intentions to add 20 lakh jobs, but there exist about 50 lakh unemployed youths in Andhra Pradesh. Assume his claims are true and he manages to create 4 lakh jobs every year. It will only after five years for him to reach that declared goal of creating 20 lakh jobs. But what about the remaining unemployed youths during that period?
“Prime Minister Modi and Chandrababu should prepare a white paper on employment. Some 300,000 vacancies exist in government sectors in the state alone. The white paper must clearly mention the time frame for the vacancies. There are reports that Lokesh has kept his promise to Modi by promising 21 MPs. While your promises are accepted, what about Modi’s promises? He has promised special category status to Andhra Pradesh during his visit to Tirupati. Where is it now?”
“The Super Six policies may sound glamorous, but where have the Super Six schemes actually vanished to? Families are eagerly waiting for the funds which were promised to be given to help mothers. Free gas cylinder announcements were made for Dussehra and Diwali-will such announcements be done for Sankranti too? For a program expected to cost between 2,000 and 4,000 crores annually, is there a real shortage of funds? What happened to free bus rides for women in the RTC? In liquor policies, there’s hardly a difference between Jagan and Babu. Jagan’s government is said to be associated with a liquor mafia said to belong to the Tadepalli Palace, while during Babu’s tenure, the local party members had controlled the mafia. Both are equally handed; the liquor mafia is still flourishing and unrestricted,” Sharmla declared while she aired her scathing criticism against the Andhra Pradesh government.
