YSRCP accuses Andhra govt of "stealing livelihoods", demands immediate release of Rs 381 crore pending MGNREGA wages

Tadepalli (Andhra Pradesh) [India], December 8 : The YSR Congress Party launched a fierce attack on the Andhra Pradesh coalition government on Monday, alleging that it has "brutally sabotaged the livelihoods of the poor" by withholding MGNREGA payments and arbitrarily deleting lakhs of job cards across the state.
Addressing the media at the party's central office in Tadepalli, YSRCP Panchayat Raj Wing State President Vennapusa Ravindra Reddy said the government has kept Rs 381 crore worth of wages pending since July 27, leaving lakhs of rural labourers without income for nearly six months. "This is not administrative negligence; it is a direct assault on the poorest of the poor," he alleged.
Reddy claimed that 18.63 lakh job cards belonging to 7.48 lakh families were removed "without notice, without verification, and purely on political considerations." He accused the Chandrababu Naidu-Pawan Kalyan government of "retaining job cards only for those affiliated with the TDP" and using the scheme as a tool of intimidation ahead of local body elections.
Taking aim at Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, Reddy questioned his silence over unpaid wages. "How can a leader who lectures workers not to call themselves labourers remain quiet when their wages are being denied?" he asked. He further criticised Pawan Kalyan for showing "more urgency in hiking movie ticket prices than in ensuring timely payments to MGNREGA workers."
Comparing the present situation with the previous YSRCP administration, Reddy said the earlier government ensured full employment and on-time wage payments. "But under the coalition regime, over 5.5 crore person-days have been cut, resulting in a loss of Rs 435.14 crore to poor families. They have crippled the MGNREGA system to the point of collapse," he alleged.
Reddy also accused the government of "credit theft", claiming that long-pending promotions of MPDOs to DDLVOs, sanctioned under YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's tenure, were merely rebranded by the current regime as DDVO promotions. "Does changing a designation increase salary or responsibility? This is nothing but cheap publicity," he said.
Demanding immediate release of all pending MGNREGA dues, as well as DA, PRC and IR arrears for employees, Reddy warned that a government "that erases job cards and suppresses labourers has no moral right to speak of governance or social justice."