The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) on Tuesday alleged that the coalition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in the State is systematically dismantling the MNREGS structure.
Addressing a press conference at the party office, former MLA Monditoka Jaganmohan Rao said that the MNREGS, a scheme designed to empower rural communities, was being watered down ever since the NDA came to power in the State. The government has sacked 12,000 field assistants, halted wage payments since March 15, and slashed workdays from six crore in April 2023-24 under YSRCP to 4.5 crore in April 2024-25, he said.
The former MLA said that a woman from Viparintalapadu village, Chandarlapadu mandal, Nandigama Constituency, ended her life after being publicly humiliated by a field assistant under MNREGS. He said that the woman had recorded a video revealing fake muster rolls and unchecked corruption, which she refrained from reporting to protect 200 workers’ livelihoods. Her sacrifice demands accountability, he said adding, yet the TDP leaders appear to shield the accused, exposing their hypocrisy.
“A former teacher and active TDP worker recorded a video before ending life, explicitly blaming the field assistant’s insults and exposing corruption in the scheme,” he said, adding, her plea for justice to MLA Tangirala Soumya and her husband has been callously ignored. The police registered her death as suspicious, and her husband cited stomach pain as the cause. This shameful act is the coalition government’s failure to value women’s lives and protect rural workers, he added.
Published – May 13, 2025 10:04 pm IST