VIJAYAWADA: Former minister Daggubati Venkateswara Rao on Wednesday wondered whether Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s decision to procure 33,000 acres of fertile land was reasonable. At the same time, he patted YSRC chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy for discharging duties well as the Opposition leader. He, however, did not categorically criticise Naidu as an attempt was being made by the TDP to brand the people who question the government as ‘anti-development’.
Interacting with the reporters at the Press Club here on Wednesday, the senior politician also observed that the ‘Praja Sankalpa Yatra’ of the Opposition leader would help the YSRC to consolidate its position in the State political arena.
Referring to the massive land pooling done for capital Amaravati, the former minister said that agricultural land should be considered a national resource and can’t be treated as individuals’ property.
“In Rayalaseema, one has to dig 2,000-3,000 ft for a borewell. That too, it will only be an attempt as there is no guarantee that there would be water. When this much of effort has to be put in to bring one acre of land under cultivation, one should evaluate the decision to take 33,000 acres of highly fertile land. Administrative capital could be built in much lesser land,” he added.
He, however, clarified that there was nothing wrong in aspiring to build a mega city and taking credit for it. But, the focus should also be on the environment and decentralisation of development.
Venkateswara Rao, who is TDP founder NTR’s son-in-law and the husband of BJP leader Purandeswari, further said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not have any selfish motives apart from the country’s progress. He added that even though demonetisation and GST were good policies, their implementation was poor.
Rao also observed that he was staying away from active politics due to the change in the trend of how polls work. “I never offered the people of my constituency any money. I did not even maintain a convoy,” he said.