VIJAYAWADA: Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) Minister Botcha Satyanarayana has accused TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and his party men of using “cheap tricks” in the legislative Assembly to gain sympathy. He alleged that the TDP agenda was to mislead the public and spew venom on the YSRC government for political gains.
Speaking to the media at the party’s central office on Saturday, the minister alleged though the government agreed to discuss issues including Polavaram, APTIDCO houses and others as requested by the TDP, the opposition members were only interested in disrupting the House and violating its traditions. He noted the government was even ready to discuss the issue related to Amaravati, but the TDP staged a walkout.
The minister also said that close to Rs 37,000 crore was spent for the welfare of the backward classes in the last one-and-a-half years. He criticised Naidu for making sermons in the Assembly alleging that the government was not doing anything for the BCs. “No other government has taken massive welfare programmes of this scale and ensured respect to backwards classes, SC and ST communities.
Jagan has made it clear that BC means backbone classes and not backward,” he said and advised Naidu to come up with a constructive agenda on issues related to the public for the next Assembly session.
Talking about the APTIDCO houses, he said that the government saved Rs 400 crore through reverse tendering and passed on the benefits to the beneficiaries.
“The Chief Minister announced that the upfront payment to be made to the banks for 365 sq feet and 430 sq ft houses would be Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000 instead of Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh. We told him that it would increase the EMIs to be paid. But the Chief Minister said that the government would bear the costs which would be around Rs 483 crore. We saved Rs 400 crore through reverse tendering and that is being passed onto the beneficiaries as a subsidy,” the minister said.