YSRCP Leader Seeks Probe Into Lathi-Charge on Secretariat Employees in Vijayawada
YSRCP's Anantapur district president condemns the lathi-charge on protesting secretariat employees in Vijayawada and seeks an inquiry.
YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) Anantapur district president Anantha Venkatarami Reddy has condemned the alleged use of force against grama and ward secretariat employees who staged a peaceful protest in Vijayawada on Sunday, and has demanded an inquiry into the lathi-charge.
Addressing the media on Monday, the senior leader questioned why the police resorted to a lathi-charge against employees who were protesting peacefully, and how employees, including women, could be detained in police stations. He called for action against those responsible.
Mr. Venkatarami Reddy said the secretariat system was introduced in 2019 by Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy with the aim of carrying government welfare schemes to every household. He alleged that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who had promised a salary of ₹10,000 to volunteers during the election campaign, dismantled the volunteer system soon after assuming office.
The YSRCP leader further alleged that secretariat employees have faced mental distress due to additional workload over the past two-and-a-half years. He claimed that when employees called for a peaceful protest in Vijayawada to press for redressal of their grievances, senior officials across all districts resorted to intimidation, yet the employees continued with their march.
Mr. Venkatarami Reddy also alleged that vendetta politics was being pursued against leaders of employee unions that were raising their voice, and demanded an inquiry and action over the lathi-charge.
Separately, he alleged that the process of delimiting divisions and identifying reservations for SC, ST, BC and women in the Anantapur Municipal Corporation (AMC) was carried out irrationally. He said that while the number of divisions was increased from 50 to 62, the boundaries should have been demarcated in proportion to population, which he claimed was not done at the ground level. He alleged that ruling party leaders manipulated what was expected to be an administrative exercise to suit their own interests, and questioned how some divisions could have 2,000 votes while others have 5,000.