VIJAYAWADA/GUNTUR: At a time when TDP supremo and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is making all-out efforts to bring all anti-BJP forces on a common platform at the national level, the BJP State leadership has decided to launch an offensive against the Telugu Desam government by roping in Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
As part of the BJP plan to expose the ‘failures’ of the TDP regime, Modi will address a public meeting in the State on January 6, 2019.
An emergency meeting of the BJP executive committee was held in Guntur on Monday to discuss the activities to be taken up by the party in the State to counter the TDP’s attack against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre and more particularly the tirade against Modi after the ruling party in the State snapped its ties with the saffron party.
The BJP leadership is learnt to have decided to give a strong reply to the TDP allegations against the PM by holding a massive public meeting by Modi to highlight the achievements of the NDA regime in the last four and a half years. “Naidu has been raking up the issues of denial of Special Category Status to AP and non-implementation of provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act, apart from levelling allegations of witch-hunt by the Centre through CBI, ED and I-T against TDP leaders. We want to give a befitting reply to all the allegations and accusations against the Centre,’’ a senior BJP leader said.
Though it is not yet decided where the public meeting will be held, Modi is likely to visit either Rayalaseema region, where the BJP had come up with a separate declaration or North Andhra. The BJP State leaders will meet the national leadership to finalise the venue of the PM’s public meeting.
After the executive meeting, BJP State co-incharge Sunil Deodhar tweeted confirming PM’s meeting in AP.
The BJP is also planning to take out a Bus Yatra covering the entire State to expose the ‘failures’ of the TDP government. “Soon after Modi’s visit to the State, we will embark on Bus Yatra to reach out to the masses,’’ BJP State president Kanna Lakshminarayana told TNIE. The 15-day Bus Yatra will tentatively start from Palasa in Srikakulam district.
“The party State presidents’ meeting will be held in Delhi on December 13. We will announce the date and route map of the PM’s visit on that day,’’ Lakshminarayana said. The district presidents were asked to identify the routes and where public meetings would be addressed during the Bus Yatra. Simultaneously, the BJP will stage a State-wide dharna on December 24, the third of its kind to expose the ‘misdeeds’ of the ruling TDP. “In the first and second phases, we held week-long dharnas in Vijayawada and also in districts on the issues of AgriGold and land scams respectively. The third, however, will be of one-day and the issue to be highlighted will be decided later,’’ the BJP State president said.
At the executive meeting, Lakshminarayana tried to instill confidence among those who did not get party positions by saying that they need not be disappointed. “We have completed the process of appointing State office-bearers, Assembly convenors and in-charges. Being an Assembly convenor and in-charge does not mean that he is the probable candidate in the next elections,’’ he said and added that those were left out will be suitably rewarded.
Speaking to media in Guntur, BJP MLC Somu Veerraju launched a diatribe against Naidu and said the Chief Minister was working for his personal mileage and not for the welfare of the people or the State.