Employment generation will be the main poll plank of TDP in Andhra Pradesh, says Lokesh

Claiming that public resentment against the YSRCP government is growing in Andhra Pradesh, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national general secretary Nara Lokesh has said that employment generation will be the major plank of his party in the forthcoming elections. “Since January 2022, I have walked over 3,100 km in the State during my Yuva Galam padayatra. One thing I can say for certain is that there is a large-scale resentment against the bad governance of the YSRCP,” he told The Hindu on the last day of his Yuva Galam padayatra on December 18 (Monday).

Claiming that public resentment against the YSRCP government is growing in Andhra Pradesh, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national general secretary Nara Lokesh has said that employment generation will be the major plank of his party in the forthcoming elections.

“Since January 2022, I have walked over 3,100 km in the State during my Yuva Galam padayatra. One thing I can say for certain is that there is a large-scale resentment against the bad governance of the YSRCP,” he told The Hindu on the last day of his Yuva Galam padayatra on December 18 (Monday).

Alleging that corruption had peaked during the YSRCP rule in the State, the TDP leader said people were unhappy that the government was trying to pay back the massive debt incurred in the last four years to fund the welfare schemes by “increasing the prices of essential commodities, power bill, APSRTC bus fares and house taxes.”

Started as a platform for a “voice for views”, the Yuva Galam has become the ‘voice of Andhra’ now, he said.

“We were under the impression that only the youth were unhappy. But, the Yuva Galam yatra has revealed that be it women or small-time traders, daily wagers or industrialists, every section of the society is unhappy with the YSRCP rule,” said Mr. Lokesh.

He said that employment generation would be the prime poll plank. “The vision of our (TDP) leader N. Chandrababu Naidu is very clear. We believe in sustainable development. Welfare and employment will ensure sustainable living. We will create at least 20 lakh jobs if the TDP is voted to power,” said Mr. Lokesh.

Launching a broadside at what he called “tall claims” of the YSRCP on welfare schemes, Mr. Lokesh said, “An auto-rickshaw driver is getting ₹12,000 under a scheme. However, he is shelling out around ₹40,000 per annum for increased fuel prices, taxes and charges. It means the government is taking back more than double of what it is giving under welfare schemes.”