The TDP leaders, including its chief Chandrababu Naidu have been talking so much about the Anna Canteens that were run by the TDP government. They claim that these canteens have served several lakhs of people during the TDP regime and want them to be opened now to feed the poor.
Every TDP leader and the entire yellow media talks about these canteens so big and loud and sought to blame the YSR Congress government for closing them.
The TDP leaders speak on every occasion that the Jagan Mohan Reddy government had deprived several lakhs of people of their daily food supplied at the lowest price of Rs 5.
But the fact is when did the TDP government started the Anna Canteens and how many such canteens were operated between 2014 and 2019.
The TDP government had started the Anna Canteens in August 2018, just six months before the general election notification was issued.
The canteens were started in Vijayawada and other major cities in limited number serving breakfast, lunch and dinner at just Rs 5 each. People were served upma or idly for breakfast, sambar rice and curd rice for lunch and dinner.
By the time the election notification was issued there were just 204 Anna Canteens in operation across the 13 districts.
The canteens were built at Rs 35 lakh each and the food supply was outsourced to the Akshaya Patra Foundation, which also supplies mid-day meal to the school children.
While the food was supplied at Rs 5 each plate, the government paid Rs 58 per plate to the Akshaya Patra Foundation towards meeting the total expenditure.
The Akshaya Patra Foundation claimed to have served the food to about 1000 to 12000 persons at each canteen for breakfast or lunch or dinner.
By the turn of the election notification, the foundation was serving lunch and dinner to 1 lakh persons in each session at all the 204 canteens in the 13 districts.
Whom are they fooling now by claiming to have served food to lakhs of people? The scheme that was in operation for less than six months is now claimed big only to fool people. This is how the yellow team campaigns, making people believe a lie to be true.
Are the people so innocent and foolish to buy these lies?