Government focus on mudslinging, not polavaram works: TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu

VIJAYAWADA: Accusing the State government of causing irreparable loss to the people of Andhra Pradesh by following thoughtless policies in all aspects of governance, TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu has alleged that mistakes made by the Chief Minister have become a curse for the State. He deplored that the ruling YSRC had tarnished the Polavaram project by alleging corruption in its execution. This baseless propaganda has become a noose around the State’s neck, he alleged. 

Addressing party elected representatives and in-charges of 175 Assembly segments through a videoconference on Tuesday, Naidu said that the Polavaram works were stopped in the name of reverse tendering. False allegations were made against the execution of the project. The focus was on political mudslinging and not on continuing the Polavaram works, he said.Naidu said that during former chief minister YSR’s regime, Rs 400 crore was spent on Polavaram works. 

The previous TDP government spent Rs 11,000 crore and completed 71 per cent works. “Overall, we spent Rs 64,000 crore on irrigation projects. From the beginning, the YSRC wasted precious time in misleading the people by criticising the TDP,” he alleged.

Condemning the mudslinging by the YSRC on the legal experts who expressed their opinion on Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s letter, the TDP chief said illegal collections were made in the name of a Union minister. Those involved in threats, abductions, murder attempts and extortions were used to target political opponents. 

He accused the YSRC government of bringing the State into disrepute by handcuffing the farmers who produced foodgrains. Stating that Jagan would go down in history as the only Chief Minister who has not visited the flood-hit areas, he criticised Jagan’s precondition of submergence for a period of one week for providing  essentials. False cases were filed against the TDP leaders, who visited flood-hit areas, he alleged. 

Jagan committed a breach of trust by not allotting the completed houses to eligible beneficiaries. The houses were not handed over fearing that it would bring a good name to the previous TDP government, Naidu argued.  

The TDP chief asked how can the government cancel the houses allotted to the poor families through lottery after taking their money as deposit. 

Naidu called upon the TDP leaders to counter the YSRC misinformation on distribution of house sites. Only 2,000 acres out of 60,000 acres acquired for houses sites were under court litigation. The rest of 58,000 acres should be distributed to the poor, he demanded.