Former Union Minister Chinta Mohan said that the Congress party was committed to bringing back the ‘Old Pension Scheme’ (OPS) for the government employees in the State, apart from restoring the ‘cheque-power’ to the sarpanches by strengthening the Panchayat Raj Act, implementing minimum wages to Anganwadi staff and National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGS) workers.
Speaking to the media, here on Wednesday, Mr. Chinta Mohan criticized Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, saying that he was playing with government employees’ future by scrapping certain or not implementing certain schemes. “The YSRCP government undermined the sanctity of the OPS, the Panchayat Raj Act, the NREGS scheme, and the Anganwadi system — all four of which were introduced by the previous Congress governments at the Center. The Congress Party will project these four important promises in the election manifesto,” he said.
Mr. Chinta Mohan said that it was unfortunate that the sarpanches all over the State were humiliated with no funds at their disposal. Similarly, the Anganwadi staff were left in the lurch with paltry wages and political exploitation, while the NREGS staff were also not paid their salaries and the workers were adversely hit with non-availability of work.
Referring to Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Telangana Party (YSRTP) president Y.S. Sharmila’s decision to join the Congress, Mr. Chinta Mohan said that it was a welcome development and would certainly strengthen the party in the State. “The sweeping wave of resentment against Jagan’s rule is slowly turning in favor of the Congress. Several prominent YSRCP leaders are now vying to join the Congress,” he said.
Earlier, the Congress leader made a door-to-door campaign at the SC Colonies in Karveti Nagaram and Nagari mandals.
