Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy paid Rs 508.18 crore under YSR Kapu Nestham on Friday, benefitting 3,38,792 women belonging to Kapu, Balija, Ontari, Telaga castes across the state.

Addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister said that the state government had credited Rs 16,256 crore through DBT for the Kapu community through various welfare schemes in the last three years, where Rs 1492 crore was spent alone on YSR Kapu Nestam.

He said that the scheme was not mentioned in the manifesto, yet it was initiated to benefit women by providing financial assistance of Rs 15,000 per annum, similar to YSR Cheyutha to empower women with business opportunities, and stated that the government is working for the welfare of these communities.

Drawing a comparison with the previous TDP government, he said that only Rs 400 crore per annum was spent for Kapu, Balija, Telaga and Ontari castes in TDP rule, while the present government had almost spent over Rs 32,296 crore in the last three years through both DBT and non-DBT schemes.

He stated that through DBT, funds of welfare schemes are being directly deposited into the beneficiaries’ accounts without any corruption or discrimination and added that DPT (Dochuko, Panchuko, Thinuko) was effectively implemented during Chandrababu’s regime.

Taking a dig at the gang of four including Chandrababu Naidu, Pawan Kalyan, and a section of the media, the Chief Minister said that they were all trying to mislead people and secure power. He said that Pawan has been trying to sell the Kapu votes to Chandrababu. He asked people whether they want DBT governance or Chandrababu’s DPT rule.