Andhra government failed to help poor celebrate festival: TDP chief

VIJAYAWADA: Extending Sankranti greetings to the people of Andhra Pradesh, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday described it as a festival, which brings greater knowledge and wisdom. He wished the people that the three-day festival lights up the lives of all in the Telugu land and enlightens them with the warmth of glory and happiness. “I always believe in the theory that a true festival is only when everyone is happy,” the TDP chief asserted.

At the same time, Naidu criticised the State government for its failure to help the poor celebrate the festival with dignity.“We thought that the people from all walks of life should celebrate the festival happily without any discrimination between the rich and the poor. During the TDP regime, we laid the foundation for distributing gifts to the poor for all festivals. Not only for Sankranti, but also for Christmas and Ramzan, we distributed gifts to the poor people by spending Rs 350 crore per annum to ensure that all the families celebrate the festivals happily,” Naidu said.

The Jagan Mohan Reddy government is not thinking on those lines and this clearly indicates the importance the ruling YSRC gives to the poor. “We felt that the real Sankranti is only when the cost of cultivation is affordable,” the TDP chief observed.

The previous TDP government always worked for the welfare of the farming community, be it the Rs 5,279 crore loan waiver, launching Annadata Sukhibhava Scheme and introducing massive subsidy for drip irrigation.It is everyone’s knowledge how the Janmabhoomi scheme delivered excellent results, Naidu said and wanted the people of the State to again get back such spirit by taking the popular schemes as an inspiration.