Jagan hits out at CM Naidu for `diluting' promise of free bus travel for women

Amaravati: Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party president YS Jagan hit out at Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for allegedly deceiving women through `hollow assurances’ and half-fulfilled schemes’.

Free bus travel restricted

In a statement released on X, Jagan pointed out that Naidu’s pre-election promise of free bus travel for women was diluted. Of the 16 bus categories, the scheme was limited to just five, covering only 6,700 of the 11,256 buses in the state. He further noted that 950 out of 1,560 non-stop express services were excluded, making the scheme inaccessible to many women.

Campaign promises unkept

Recalling the “Super-6” and “Super-7” campaign drives, Jagan said Naidu had distributed guarantee slips assuring that all promises would be implemented from June last year. “Even after 14 months, most commitments have been shelved, and even the smallest promise, free bus travel, was reduced to a token measure,” he said.

Women ridiculed, past betrayals recalled

Jagan criticised Naidu’s remarks that a single free bus ride could make women “lakhpatis,” calling it insulting. He also reminded people of the 2014–19 tenure, when the DWCRA loan waiver was left incomplete and interest collections burdened women further.

YSRCP’s “Golden Era” of Empowerment

Contrasting this with his own tenure, Jagan listed schemes such as Amma Vodi, Aasara, Cheyutha, Zero-Interest Loans, Kapu Nestham, EBC Nestham, and large-scale house site allocations in women’s names. He claimed that nearly 1.05 crore women had directly benefited, which he described as a “golden era of women’s empowerment” in Andhra Pradesh.

LPG Cylinder Scheme under fire

Jagan also flayed the government over its promise of three free LPG cylinders annually. “In practice, only one cylinder was given to a limited number of families,” he said, adding that though Rs 4,100 crore was allocated annually, only around Rs 750 crore was actually spent.

“Guarantee of Betrayal”

Concluding his statement, Jagan accused the Naidu-led government of being synonymous with deception: “Babu’s surety means guarantee of betrayal.”