VIJAYAWADA/NANDYAL: Terming the verdict of Nandyal voters an endorsement of the TDP’s governance in the last three years, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday said the result was a clear indication that people would always favour welfare and development. He was speaking at a conference after the TDP won the Nandyal bypoll with a margin of 27,000 votes. Alleging that the attitude of Leader of Opposition YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was “objectionable and dangerous”, the Chief Minister said people of the state were relieved when the TDP recorded a remarkable win. He also likened Jagan to Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh saying he had let a lot of people down despite enjoying their unsuspecting faith.
“Knowing that the general elections were just a year and a half away and there was every possibility of advanced polls in case the Prime Minister opts for pre-polls as part of the one nation one election move, the YSRC took the election as a prestige issue, but met a humiliating defeat,’’ he said.Speaking to newsmen at the IGC in Velagapudi on Monday, Naidu said voters of Nandyal gave a historic verdict by choosing the TDP candidate despite the government facing a financial crunch in implementing welfare and development schemes.
Asserting that there was no previous instance of a party president spending nearly two weeks canvassing for votes for an Assembly seat, Naidu said Jagan had taken up door-to-door campaigning and played the role of a party worker. He said the voters had taught Jagan a lesson for having fielded a candidate for the seat that had fallen vacant because of the death of the incumbent regardless of which party the incumbent belonged to.“Despite the Election Commission issuing notices and seeking an explanation from Jagan for making objectionable statements against me, he continued to incite people to shoot and disrobe me,” the CM said.
Comparing the YSRC chief to Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the Chief Minister said despite being the head of a good institute with devotees who believed in him, the self-styled godman cheated them. “As he was aware that one day or the other his sins would come out, Dera Baba created violence,’’ he said and added that the YSRC chief like Ram Rahim had resorted to violence in Visakhapatnam on Republic Day in the name of ‘Jallikattu Spoorthi’.
Reacting to the challenge of the YSRC chief that the ruling TDP should seek fresh mandate by offering resignations of 20 MLAs it got from YSRC, the Chief Minister suggested said the YSRC chief order his MPs to resign if he was so keen on byelection.“As it was the YSRC chief, who announced that MPs representing from the YSRC would submit resigns in case of the Centre does not accord Special Category Status to AP by June this year, he should now stick to his statement and force his MPs to resign and then the TDP will enter the fray,’’ the Chief Minister said.
The CM said the Election Commission should work in a “proper way” and not give scope for any doubt.
“For instance, after our (TDP) leaders filed a petition, orders came from Election Commission officials in Delhi ordering criminal prosecution of the leader of opposition. But, the officials at Hyderabad delayed issuing orders for some days, giving scope for suspicion, “the Chief Minister said.
Officials in the Election Commission should play a referee role without taking sides, he said. “Even though I am the president of a party apart from being the CM, I never faulted the Election Commission and suggest that the body function impartially,’’ he said.