Cong denies TDP charges of Govt neglecting welfare sector

Hyderabad, Feb1: The Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) today denied the charges of Telugu Desam Party(TDP) leaders that the State Government had neglected the welfare sector.

Talking to newspersons at party headquarters 'Gandhi Bhavan' here, official spokespersons P Venkata Rao and N Tulasi Reddy said the Congress Government in the State during its two-and-half-year rule had increased the budgetary allocation for the welfare sector.

Terming the TDP's proposed statewide stir 'Pedala Shankaravam' on February five against the Congress Government as joke, they said TDP leaders were making baseless allegations against the Government to cover up their mistakes and divert the attention of the people.

The Congress leaders alleged that TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu was raising the issue now, though he had totally neglected the welfare sector and the poor people during his nine-year tenure in the State.

They said the Congress Government earmarked Rs 3620.28 crore during 2006-07 for the welfare sector, as against the TDP Government allocation of Rs 2130.52 crore during 2003-04. The Government had given pension to old people, handicapped persons and widows totalling 9.4 lakh, they added.

They said the Government proposed to construct 67 lakh houses in five years for the poor people, of which, 12 lakh houses had already been built during the last two-and-half-years, whereas the TDP Government had constructed only 26.40 lakh houses in its nine year tenure.

The leaders said the Government had allocated nearly 4.37 lakh acres of land to poor people on three occasions. The Government had also increased the Backward Classes Post Metric Scholarships to five lakh students with budgetary allocation of Rs 124 crores this year, compared to 3.2 lakh students with Rs 77.23 crore in 2003-04.

They said Andhra Pradesh was the only State in the country which provided more funds for the welfare sector with a view to uplift the poor and downtrodden in the State.

UNI