The YSR Congress Party in its election manifesto announced schemes for farmers, health and life insurance schemes, school fees for poor children, re-reimbursement for junior college and higher education students, employment programmes for youth and separate welfare schemes for BCs, SCs,STs and Minorities. The Jalayagnam started by former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy would be resumed. The party said that it would implement liquor prohibition in three phases.
The main scheme in the manifesto is for farmers.It announced ₹50,000 as investment for each farmer’s family over four years. Each family would be paid ₹12,500 in the month of May. The government would pay the entire premium for crop insurance and give zero interest loans to farmers, YSR Congress Party president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy said. He released the much awaited party manifesto at his residence-cum-party office in Tadepalli near hear on Saturday.
Each farmer would also get a free bore well, free power, interest discount on crop loan and exemption of road tax for tractors. All people with an annual income of less than ₹5 lakh would be covered under Arogyasri Health insurance scheme under which all health expenditure more than ₹1,000 would be covered by the government upto a maximum of ₹10 lakh. Every poor school-going child would be paid ₹15,000 a year for school fees so that no child was deprived of schooling, he said.
The age limit for old-age pension will be reduced from 65 to 60 years and pension will be increased to ₹3,000. This would increase the income of the families to between ₹36,000 and ₹72,000 a year.
Under the fee reimbursement scheme for college students fee between ₹1 lakh and 1.5 lakh would be reimbursed per annum and an additional ₹20,000 would be paid as allowance for food, for each student. The manifesto listed separate schemes for BCs, SCs,STs and minorities .
The party manifesto is a sacred document on the basis of which a political party seeks re-election at the end of five-year rule, Mr. Jagan said. But it had become a tradition for all political parties to come out with colourful booklets, but what happens later has to be considered.
“If a party gets elected after announcing a manifesto and does not keep its promises after being elected doesn’t it amount to deception?” Mr Jagan asked.
He went into details about how the TDP which failed to cover even the interest on the loans was claiming to have waived them. He also read out a few other schemes promised by the TDP which he said did not see the day of light. He said the YSRCP manifesto would be available on the party website always and its implementation reviewed every week.
