VIJAYAWADA: With TDP leaders making the utilisation certificates (UCs) related to Central funds public on Tuesday, the BJP leaders who, so far claimed that UCs were not submitted, alleged that the certificates were not genuine.
Claiming that the UCs submitted by the State were not bona fide, BJP MP and the party’s national spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao demanded that the TDP government release work-wise details of expenditure. He accused the State government of misleading people by submitting ‘uttutti’ (fake) certificates.
At an hour-long press conference in the city, Narasimha Rao said, “Our party president Amit Shah, in his letter, said that 88 per cent of the special development funds released for the backward districts remained unutilised. We have gotten the information from the officials concerned and there is no ambiguity in our claims. The UCs submitted by the State government are not bona fide.
A UC should contain details of how much of funds were spent and who benefited from the expenditure. But the State government merely showed a paper stating that it had spent the money, only to mislead the public.” He, however, did not produce any evidence to support his claims.
He said Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had failed to give a reply supported by evidence to BJP president Amit Shah’s letter. “The CM used two hours of the Assembly time for election campaign. Neither he clarified the doubts nor presented the proof. The State government is feeling the heat as we are asking how it had spent Rs 1,050 crore special development funds and Rs 1,000 crore released for drainage development in the capital region. If it feels that it is under pressure to present proof of expenditure involving a few thousands of crores of rupees, what will it do when we seek accounts for Rs 2.44 lakh crore we have sanctioned?” he wondered.
He said BJP would further expose TDP’s misgovernance in the coming days. “Amit Shah’s letter is the first of the many disclosures to come from our party,” he aid.
The BJP national spokesperson observed that the ruling party was feeling the pinch due to BJP’s growth. “That is the reason why conspiracy theories like Operation Dravida and CBI raids are being floated. It should be noted that it is not Operation Dravida but Operation ‘Dhada’ (fear) as they are afraid of the BJP’s growing strength,” he remarked.
Expressing his opinion about the all-party meeting convened by CM Naidu, Narasimha Rao said, “The TDP is trying to cover up its mistakes by calling an all-party meeting so that it can later project its failure as the failure of all parties.”