NELLORE: Ridiculing Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for expressing displeasure over the Union Budget, YSR Congress president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday said the TDP being a coalition partner of the NDA should have been part of the decision-making process.Addressing a large gathering at South Mopur in Nellore district as part of his Praja Sankalpa Yatra, the Leader of Opposition said, “Naidu expressing displeasure means nothing as the Budget, before being presented, was approved by the Union Cabinet in which the TDP has two Ministers.”
Stating that Naidu’s “theatrics” would not work anymore, Jagan questioned what had happened to the interests of the State when the TDP chief agreed to the so-called special package in lieu of Special Category Status. He also found fault with Naidu writing to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying the State was not that interested in having port at Dugarajapatnam and would instead appreciate another project. “He is talking as if it is for the first time that the NDA government has presented a budget serving a raw deal to the State,” he said.
The YSRC chief said Naidu has a habit of backstabbing his benefactors. “Tomorrow it might be Narendra Modi or someone else,” he said. He maintained that the Union Budget was a collective decision of the coalition government and the TDP being a part of the Centre could not run away from the fact that it was party to the decisions taken ignoring the interests of the State.Jagan maintained that the TDP chief had failed to mount pressure on the Centre as he kept his personal interests ahead of the people’s interests. “From Polavaram to Bhogapuram international airport, he has been looking for kickbacks and is never serious about people’s welfare. He has cancelled the calling of tenders for Bhogapuram airport as he wants to give it to his favoured few and not to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) which has given a good deal to the State,” he said.
The Nellore barrage works were started by former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy and 80 per cent of the works were completed. In four years, Naidu could not complete the remaining works. Vikrama Simhapuri University was started during the YSR regime and the present government has been neglecting it, he observed.
Jagan alleged that Naidu had gone back on all his poll promises, including loan waiver to farmers and DWCRA groups. “The houses for the poor have been given to contractors. It is being sold at an exorbitant rate of `2,000 per sq ft and the repayment terms are very harsh. The contract is designed in such a way that the contractor makes a quick buck while the poor will end up paying the EMIs throughout their life,” he said. Jagan promised that if he was elected to power, education would be made accessible to weaker sections of the society and the entire fees would be reimbursed.