VIJAYAWADA: YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president and former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday, accusing him of orchestrating a publicity spectacle to ‘steal credit’ for the Poola Subbaiah Veligonda Irrigation Project.
In a statement posted on social platform X, Jagan expressed immense happiness over Krishna waters flowing through the twin tunnels into Nallamala Sagar, describing the project as his father YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s dream and a lifeline for fluorosis-affected families and farmers in backward regions.
He hit out at Naidu and his ‘friendly media’ for attempting to rewrite history, stating that while Naidu laid only a foundation stone before the 1996 elections and spent a mere Rs 10 lakh over eight years on event arrangements, YSR gave comprehensive shape to the project under Jalayagnam.
Categorically breaking down the execution of the 37.587-km twin tunnels, Jagan stated that 20.333 km was completed under YSR’s tenure, whereas the TDP government (2014–19) executed just 6.686 km without achieving a single breakthrough.
He highlighted that his administration completed the most complex 10.568-km stretch despite pandemic challenges, completing Tunnel-1 in January 2021 and Tunnel-2 in January 2024 before dedicating the twin tunnels to the nation on March 6, 2024. He questioned Naidu’s moral right to claim total ownership when the intake systems and tunnel linkages were already prepared during the YSRCP regime.
Further attacking the government’s handling of project-affected families, the former Chief Minister alleged that the coalition administration delayed R&R package implementation for 26 months. He claimed hundreds of displaced families are being forcibly evicted without full compensation.
Jagan accused the government of betraying the region by stalling the 131-bed super-speciality hospital at Peddadornala and halting construction of the Markapuram Government Medical College to hand it over to private entities.