VIJAYAWADA: Launching a counterattack, BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao has said that the Central assistance provided to the Statue of Unity (Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel) was just Rs 300 crore, not Rs 3,000 crore as being repeatedly claimed by TDP supremo and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
He also pointed out that the Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR) in Gujarat was sanctioned in 2011 by the then UPA government and has been given only Rs 1,293 crore so far, contrary to Naidu’s claims that Rs 96,000 crore was doled out.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, Narasimha Rao said, “Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is lying blatantly. The CM says that the Centre is giving Rs 96,000 crore to Dholera when only Rs 1,293 crore has been given so far. Also, the Centre will give a maximum of Rs 3,000 crore, as approved in 2011. Same is the case with the Statue of Unity for which the Central grant is only Rs 300 crore out of the entire project cost of Rs 2,332 crore.”
He explained that Dholera SIR is one of the eight nodes of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC). “It is an industrial city and can’t be compared with a capital (Amaravati).
As far as industrial cities are concerned, the NDA has sanctioned five such cities in Andhra Pradesh alone. While Krishnapatnam is being developed as part of Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor, Visakhapatnam and Srikalahasti would be developed under the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC). Two more industrial cities — Kakinada and Gangavaram — have been proposed and are awaiting approval,” he explained, adding that it is Andhra Pradesh, not Gujarat, that has benefited from Modi’s decisions.
He also released documents from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust and Dholera Industrial City Development Ltd to support his arguments.
“Chief Minister Naidu should apologise for lying. Or else, he should at least publicly reply to the documents I presented,” he demanded.
Narasimha Rao further lambasted the TDP saying it used the recently-concluded Mahanadu as a platform to spread lies against the BJP.
He also said that the Utilisation Certificates submitted by the State government were not authentic.
“A similar observation was made by a team of officials from the Government of India (GoI) which visited capital Amaravati. Even the CAG pointed out that the State government had embezzled funds,” the MP said.