The YSR Congress on Friday staged a walkout in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly in protest against the refusal of the government to implement its election promise to hike the honorarium of anganwadi workers.
Leading the walkout during question hour, Leader of Opposition Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy slammed the government for not making a budgetary provision to hike the honorarium of workers though the election manifesto of the TDP committed itself in the matter. He took exception to Women and Child Welfare Minister Peethala Sujatha stating that the government would consider the hike but it will not be done immediately because the State government was facing a financial crisis.
Earlier, Ms. Sujatha informed the House that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was reviewing all promises one by one but he could not act fast because of the deficit budget. She said house sites to anganwadi workers was also under the consideration of the government. There were 55,000 workers in the State.
Labour Minister K. Atchan Naidu admitted that the promise was made in the manifesto as it was a genuine demand. All promises in the manifesto will be implemented but it would take some time as IAS officers, who were key to administration, were yet to be allotted to the State.
Uppuleti Kalpana of the YSR Congress, who raised the question, demanded a honorarium of Rs. 10,000 a month because women labourers earned up to Rs. 12,000 a month at Rs. 400 a day. The role of anganwadi workers was much bigger than that of labourers as they were like mothers to children who thronged the centres.
R.K. Roja of the same party asked whether the ruling TDP did not anticipate deficit budget when it made ‘tall promises.’ She targeted the government for pointing out deficit budget for every weakness.
