TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu said here on Friday that the panchayats had lost `4,000 cr in Central funds due to the delay of elections to local bodies by the Congress government in the State.
Addressing the TDP’s regional conference here - called to work out the party’s strategy for the panchayat elections - he pointed that the TDP regime had given a boost to the local bodies by increasing their powers and sources of income generation. Stating that the TDP would bring back the past glory, he urged the party functionaries to strive to secure good results in the panchayat elections. “We can maintain the winning streak up to Assembly elections by achieving good results in the panchayat polls,’’ he added.
Naidu got a good response from the party activists who kept shouting ‘Jai TDP’ during his speech. The TDP chief flayed the government for its failure in bringing back the stranded pilgrims from Uttarakhand and pointed out that it was the TDP which had taken the initiative in arranging flights for pilgrims.
Referring to the plight of the farmers in the State due to increasing costs of seeds and fertilizers during the nine-year tenure of the Congress at both the Centre and in the State, he fumed at the government for failing to increase the remunerative prices for the farm produce on par with the farmers’ input expenditure. He reiterated that the TDP would waive the loans of farmers and also provide nine-hour free power to them if the party was voted to power in the 2014 Assembly elections.
He charged the government with spoiling the image of the APPSC - the body tasked with the selection of top state government posts -- by appointing ineligible and corrupt persons as its members. He added that the TDP would continue its fight for cleansing the APPSC.
Naidu exuded confidence that the TDP would also play a crucial role in the national politics after the 2014 General Elections.
Reacting to the reports that Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy had failed in getting an appointment with AICC chief Sonia Gandhi even after waiting for days in New Delhi as shameful, Naidu recalled that there were days when the Prime Ministers used to wait for his arrival in New Delhi when he had played a vital role in forming the United Front, National Front and the NDA governments.
“The Congress leaders of the State are puppets in the hands of the high command in New Delhi and are remote-controlled by it,’’ he said. But, the TDP had no such high command he said and added that only the people of the state were its high command.