Naidu’s family visit to Amaravati a political drama, says Pushpa

VIJAYAWADA:   DEPUTY Chief Minister and Tribal Welfare Minister Pamula Pushpa Srivani has described the visit of TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and his wife to Amaravati capital villages as a political drama and an attempt to cover up his failure to construct the capital city in five years. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, she said another historical year has begun for the people of the State, but Naidu was afraid that his irregularities would be exposed. Responding to Naidu’s wife Bhuvaneswari donating her bangles to fund the ongoing agitation against the three-capital proposal, Srivani said, “The lands grabbed by Naidu should be returned, not the bangles.’’

Chandrababu Naidu’s family didn’t come out during the State bifurcation. Now they did so only to protect their lands and business, not for the capital city villagers. “Heritage, a company owned by Naidu’s family, had purchased 14.22 acres of land in Amaravati at throwaway price. The land with survey numbers 27, 28, 56, 67, and 62 near Kantheru was purchased in August 2014, a month before the capital city announcement,” she alleged. She said primary inquiry has revealed that about 4,069 acres of land were purchased by TDP leaders and their close aides from June 2014 to December 2014. The expert committee recommended decentralised development and that is why three capital cities were proposed.

“Now, it has become evident that Naidu and his family are not in favour of developing the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema,’’ she alleged. YSRC MLA TJR Sudhakar Babu criticised Naidu for making false allegations against the government for political gain. “The previous TDP government had taken `2.5 lakh crore loans, but spent only `5,000 crore for the capital city. It failed to lay even proper roads in the capital region. He had not finished even the first floor of the many iconic towers displayed in graphics,’’ Sudhakar Babu said. “What did you (Naidu) do for the farmers who gave away 33,000 acres of land for the capital, he sought to know. The then government failed to give developed plots to the farmers as promised. Now Naidu is inciting the farmers against the government,” he said.