Amalapuram: TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday alleged here that the ruling YSRCP is forcing the volunteers to resign and make them its party workers.
The opposition leader made the allegations while addressing a public meeting at Kothapeta near Amalapuram in Konaseema district as part of his Prajagalam election canvassing tour.
“By forcing the volunteers to resign, YSRCP is trying to make them its party workers. The Election Commission made it clear that government employees should distribute the pensions, not the volunteers, who are not full-time employees,” said Naidu.
Noting that he never opposed the volunteer system, a decentralised governance delivery system, but noted that he is against the volunteers allegedly doing politics.
Naidu recalled that TDP founder N T Rama Rao had started the welfare pension scheme with Rs 35 per month and said after he became the CM in 2014, it was hiked from Rs 200 to Rs 2,000 per month.
Accusing YSRCP chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy of indulging in ‘propaganda politics’ over volunteers and pensions by handling this issue nefariously, the TDP supremo promised to increase pensions to Rs 4,000 per month on coming to power.
Elections for the 175-member Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh are scheduled on May 13 and counting of votes is slated for June 4.
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