VIJAYAWADA: On a day when TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu conducted a roadshow in Vijayawada to campaign for the party candidates for the municipal elections, a host of ministers lashed out at the TDP chief for his remarks.
Giving a rebuttal to the allegations levelled by Naidu against the government and the ministers hailing from Krishna district, the ministers, at separate press conferences, said Naidu has no right to speak about the development of Vijayawada or Amaravati capital issue.
Civil Supplies minister Kodali Venkateswara Rao (Nani) said Naidu and his son Nara Lokesh were instigating people of Vijayawada to protest against the government. "They should be ashamed of themselves for confining to Hyderabad for the last eight months and hitting the roads ahead of the elections for votes," he said.
Nani said though the State government has borrowed Rs 1 lakh crore, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has spent Rs 95,000 crore for implementing various welfare schemes by providing financial aid to people through Direct Benefit Transfer.
"Naidu borrowed more than three lakh crore during his term and looted the money," he alleged and added that the previous TDP government had indulged in massive corruption in the conduct of Krishna Pushkarams.
On the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant privatisation and fuel prices hike issues, the minister held the Centre responsible for price hike of petrol, diesel and gas and privatisation of the Vizag steel plant. "Naidu should raise his voice against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on these issues, if he has the guts," the minister challenged.
On the Amaravati issue, Nani alleged that Naidu and his followers were involved in large-scale corruption in the land deals in the capital. "You will go behind bars, if the stays (on Amaravati land scam probe) are vacated," he said.
Endowments Minister Vellampalli Srinivas slammed the TDP chief for neglecting Vijayawada during his term and said the TDP chief doesn’t have any moral right to campaign in the city. "Naidu could not complete the construction of Kanaka Durga flyover during his tenure and did not release funds for the development of Vijayawada, while Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's government has completed the flyover and sanctioned Rs 600 crore worth works for the development of the city," he said and claimed that the YSR Congress will win in all the 64 wards in the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation.
TDP leaders themselves are admitting that only people belonging to Naidu's caste are benefitting in the yellow party and sought Naidu’s response on the comments made by TDP leaders Bonda Umamaheswar Rao, Buddha Venkanna and Nagul Meera on Vijayawada MP Kesineni Nani.
Reminding that it was Naidu who issued a GO hiking water cess to hundred per cent when he was the chief minister, Vellampalli said people will not believe the false propaganda of the TDP on property taxes to gain political mileage, and assured that the new tax policy will not burden the people. Minister Perni Venkataramaiah (Nani) too slammed Naidu.