Palasa (Andhra Pradesh), Jun 16 (PTI) YSRCP leader and former fisheries minister S Appalaraju on Monday accused the TDP-led NDA government of excluding 20 lakh beneficiaries from the 'Talliki Vandam' scheme, which offers Rs 15,000 per annum for every eligible school-going child.
The state government started implementing 'Talliki Vandanam' from June 12 for the academic year 2025-26, which is expected to benefit over 67 lakh students across the state.
"The government has deleted the names of 20 lakh beneficiaries under Talliki Vandanam scheme after conveniently skipping the scheme last year (2024-25)," said Appalaraju in a YSRCP release.
While the Central government's Unified District Information System (UDIS) showed that "there were over 87 lakh students during 2023-24", Appalaraju observed that the N Chandrababu Naidu-led government is showing "only 67 lakh students".
He alleged that Human Resource Minister Nara Lokesh has "fudged" the figures to implement 'Talliki Vandanam'.
"The previous YSRCP government had deposited money in the accounts of 42.61 lakh mothers under the Amma Vodi scheme. Now the TDP coalition government is also saying that the number of mothers is 42 lakh," he said, questioning that if students had increased, then beneficiary mothers should also rise.
When compared with the Central government data, about 20 lakh students are missing from the beneficiary list, Appalaraju claimed.
There was no immediate reaction from the ruling TDP.