TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu meets President Kovind, demands central rule in Andhra Pradesh

NEW DELHI: TDP chief N Chandrababu, who left the ruling NDA before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls returned on Tuesday after with meeting President Ramnath Kovind and seeking central help in dealing with the “YSRCP attack” on his party in Andhra Pradesh and with the menace of “growing drug mafia” in the state, but failed to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah. He hopes to meet them during his next visit whenever it is scheduled in accordance with the convenience of the two leaders.
Naidu had written to the President, the PM and the home minister before arriving in Delhi flagging the law and order issues in the state, providing them with video and photographic evidences of the attacks on his party offices and leaders in the state, and seeking imposition of President’s rule in the state.
“We need to fight to protect the state and its people… We are under attack only because TDP decided to expose the ruling government’s connections with drug mafia and are against the strengthening clutches of liquor mafia. I hope to meet the home minister… we have to protect the youth and the entire state,” Naidu said during an interaction with the media on Monday evening.
“Jagan (chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy) has destroyed the ecosystem in the state. We are staring at a serious financial crisis. The fiscal management of the state is in doldrums. He has borrowed left and right… Companies are becoming non-performing assets. The state is bankrupt and Rs 80,000 crore bills are pending just for the contractors… No money is being spent on infrastructure,” Naidu said, when asked about his concerns expressed over the number of freebies introduced by the Andhra Pradesh government.
Naidu said the money crunch has already forced the chief minister to downsize welfare schemes. “The payment for the government schemes have already started getting delayed,” he said.
According to Naidu, the YRSCP government started attacking his party and its leaders as the TDP started taking on “the drug mafia.” “Andhra is becoming a hub for drug activities…The chief minister had announced liquor prohibition but later changed it to restrictions which in effect was to allow his own firms to sell liquor,” he said.