Andhra Pradesh: Students deliberately detained to generate revenue: TDP leader

Collecting even ₹100 from each failed student would fetch the govt. crores, says V. Anitha

Telugu Mahila State president V. Anita accused the State government of deliberately detaining two lakh students in SSC and 3.65 lakh students in Intermediate in order to generate additional revenue in the form of revaluation and supplementary exam fees.

Stating that the fail percentage witnessed now was unprecedented in the State, Ms. Anita said it was a deliberate move by the government as collection of even ₹100 from each failed student would ensure income of crores of rupees for the government.

“The government perhaps plans to utilise the money to run the ‘Amma Vodi’ scheme. No fee should be collected from Intermediate students for the supplementary exam,” Ms. Anita, who is a member of the TDP Polit Bureau, demanded.

Accusing the State government of imposing high taxes on people to fund its welfare schemes, Ms. Anita said the government was ‘doing injustice’ to single women by imposing a cut in their pensions by arbitrarily tweaking the eligibility criteria.

“In 2017-18, then Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had announced pensions for unmarried women with no source of support and for women who were deserted by their husbands and had to support their family alone. Women voted for the YSRCP after Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy promised to enhance the pension to ₹3,000 if voted to power. But now, the government has changed the criteria to allow only women aged above 50 to be eligible for the pensions,” Ms. Anita alleged, adding that only 10% of the 3 lakh single women were getting pensions.

“The YSRCP had secured Muslim votes by promising to give a sum of ₹1 lakh to young Muslim women from poor families at the time of their wedding under the ‘Dulhan’ scheme. Under the TDP regime, the women were being given ₹50,000. However, the scheme has now been completely withdrawn,” Ms. Anita alleged.