Discrimination Has No Place In Good Welfare Governance, Chandrababu

Dec 10, 2018, 08:48 IST

Ragolu, Srikakulam district: This morning I began my Padayatra from Balaga area. RIMS Hospital here is also known as Balaga General hospital, a major medical facility. RIMS was set up by my father with the intention of serving the poor and needy of this backward region.

Doctors, nutritionists, nursing staff and others from the Rehabilitation Centre at the hospital came and met me today. They told me about the pathetic state of affairs at the hospital. “This Government has not been releasing funds and has not been making appointments,” they complained and added—“There is no staff or proper management and medical facilities are not being provided.” They said—“As a result, all cases are being turned into referral cases for private hospitals. Without proper facilities and services, lack of quality healthcare, PG courses are not getting approved." They expressed their anguish that the purpose of setting up RIMS had been defeated completely. What was worse and hurt them even more was that this deliberate neglect was driven by malicious fear and envy that my father would get a good name.

The state of model schools established in backward mandals to serve poor students and impart quality education to them in English, is no different. Representatives from the Federation of Model School Teachers met me today. They were furious with the TDP government for watering down the standards of model schools which emerged as competitors to corporate educational institutions. They were forced to take to the streets in protest, demanding their salaries, they complained. They lamented that the concept of model schools had been completely defeated.

Ponnada Sanjiva Rao came to me carrying his two daughters and told me that they were being denied the benefits of the Bangaru Thalli scheme.

Whether it is RIMS, model schools or such welfare schemes, for the government to show discrimination only because previous rulers who had taken the initiative to start them would get due credit, is downright unjust. Women from DWCRA self-help groups belonging to Budatavalasa met me. They complained that funds belonging to their groups had been swindled by ruling party leaders with forged signatures and fake documents. What is worse is that even when the culprits had been caught red-handed with clear evidence, a minister was protecting them. At a higher level, they were betrayed by promises of loan waivers and functionaries lower down siphoned off their funds! They wailed—“Where do we go to seek justice?“

Today happens to be my wife, Bharathi’s birthday. Having spent more than a year on my mass contact initiative, Praja Sankalpa Yatra, I was away from her for two consecutive birthdays, while being amidst the people of the state on my Padayatra.

I have a question for the chief minister—pioneering schemes such as Arogyasri, 108 services, fee reimbursement, hospitals such as RIMS, irrigation projects and a host of welfare measures are being neglected and watered down by your government only because they were initiated by my father. Does this not amount to cheating the people of Andhra Pradesh and betraying them?

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