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Naidu criticises Jagan for visiting ex-minister in jail

Naidu criticises Jagan for visiting ex-minister in jail

News182 days ago
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PTI
Kadapa (Andhra Pradesh), Aug 1 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday accused opposition leader YS Jagan Mohan Reddy of backing indecent conduct by visiting former minister K Govardhan Reddy, who allegedly made disparaging comments against a woman MLA, in jail.
During his Nellore trip on Thursday, Jagan visited the district jail to meet senior YSRCP leader and former minister K Govardhan Reddy.
After that he visited the family of senior party leader N Prasanna Kumar Reddy whose house was recently ransacked allegedly by TDP cadres for making allegedly 'disparaging comments' against a woman TDP MLA.
'Instead of condemning the behaviour (of Prasanna Kumar Reddy), Jagan Mohan Reddy went and supported it by meeting the person who made such remarks," said Naidu, addressing a village meeting.
He asserted that if any leader in his party was found guilty of wrongdoing would face disciplinary action and that his government would not tolerate misconduct.
According to Naidu, Jagan Mohan Reddy used crowd-pulling images from his recent Bangarupalem visit to 'falsely' portray that a large number of people also turned up for his Nellore programme.
He warned people not to trust such alleged misinformation and added that blindly following it is like 'holding onto a dog's tail to cross the Godavari River." Further, Naidu observed that over one lakh widows, earlier left out from the pension scheme were included this month.
He assured that Rs 5,200 crore will be spent annually to support eligible women and widows under this scheme as part of the TDP-led NDA government's commitment to inclusive welfare policies. PTI MS STH ADB
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Amid curbs on H1B and student visas, more Indians are lining up for US investment visas

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Blank pages in textbooks: On March 8, 2023, the government announced the inclusion of blank pages after every chapter in textbooks prepared by Balbharti for the state board curriculum for classes 2-8, as an alternative to carrying nortebooks separately. The reason: it will reduce the weight of school bags. Triggering backlash, with students carrying the textbooks and notebooks to school, the move was in place for only one academic year – 2024-25 – and was rolled back on January 28. Caste on HSC exam hall ticket: The state board printed caste categories on hall tickets, issued on January 11, for the Higher Secondary Certificate exam. Following sharp criticism from social groups, the board expressed regret and issued a new order on January 18 withdrawing the hall tickets and issuing new ones on January 23. 10% EWS quota in private medical colleges: On July 23, the information brochure for state medical admissions, released by the CET Cell, listed a 10 percent EWS (Economically Weaker Section) reservation. Aspirants, their parents and colleges wrote to the Minister that implementing the quota without increasing seat intake would reduce the slots available under the general pool. On July 30, a day after a delegation of parents met the Minister, the move was withdrawn through a notification stating that the quota would be implemented only if additional intake is approved. Vasant Kalpande, a former Director of Education in the state, blamed the disconnect between decision-making and implementation on a 'lack of dialogue in educational governance'. 'The current top-down approach is detrimental to effective policy-making in a state as diverse as Maharashtra. Effective governance hinges on dialogue with stakeholders, empathy, and sensitivity. With varying needs among students and teachers, a one-size-fits-all approach cannot work,' he said. Basanti Roy, who served over 30 years in the state's education department, stressed the importance of piloting new initiatives to identify challenges and assess impact before scaling them. Without this, she warned, 'reversals become inevitable'. 'In the rush to innovate, we are neglecting due diligence,' she said. Can't be seamless always: Minister When contacted, Kesarkar, under whose tenure the decisions related to blank pages, uniforms and sweet dish were made, described them as 'student-centric'. 'The process of decision-making involved thorough consultation with stakeholders concerned. There could have been certain challenges in its implementation at the ground level. But those could have been resolved by applying corrective measures which could have shown benefits of these decisions in the coming years,' he said. Bhuse, the current minister, said education policies are shaped after careful evaluation. 'All policy decisions taken by the School Education Department are made with the best interests of our key stakeholders — students, parents, teachers, and schools — in mind. When feedback indicates the need for adjustments, those are duly considered and incorporated. However, that does not imply the original decisions were flawed.' Citing an example, he said, 'The initiative to provide high-quality uniforms to government school students was launched with the right intent, but challenges in large-scale implementation required modifications in the process.' Pointing to 'successful' decisions, Bhuse said, 'Take the example of the 'Copy-Free Exam' campaign during the state board examinations. 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