VIJAYAWADA: Accusing TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu of misleading the people with blatant lies, Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath said people are not innocent to believe him.Taking a dig at Naidu for his remarks against the YSRC government during his visit to Kunool, Buggana on Thursday said despite the fact that the YSRC government did not close any school and the enrolment of students in government schools increased to a great extent, the TDP chief made baseless allegations.
“There is no truth in the statement that 6,000 schools were closed and four lakh students opted out of government schools. How can a person who served as chief minister for 14 years talk like that? In fact, 2,906 schools, including 1,759 primary and high schools, were closed in 2017 during the tenure of Naidu. The student strength in government schools stood at around 42 lakh when the TDP formed the government in 2014 and it declined to 37 lakh by 2019.”
“After the formation of our (YSRC) government in 2019, the student strength has increased to 42 lakh because of the special focus on government schools,’’ Buggana said. Rubbishing the claims of Naidu on industrial investments, he said the State got Rs 11,994 crore investments per year on an average in the five year tenure of TDP. Now, the investments stood at Rs 13,200 crore a year despite the Covid-19 pandemic. All the details are furnished by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.
Stating that only 34,000 jobs were provided in the TDP regime, the Finance Minister said the YSRC government had already given 2.10 lakh jobs and notification will be issued soon for another 10,000 posts, including 6,511 in the police department and 3,673 in judiciary. The average increase in debts per year is 15%, compared to 20% average during the TDP regime, the Finance Minister explained.
Alleging that Naidu failed to fulfil even a single promise made to Kurnool when he was in power, he said several industries and solar and wind energy plants came up in the region during the YSRC regime
Accusing Naidu of doing nothing to Rayalaseema except injustice, he found fault with the TDP chief for opposing the setting up of High Court in Kurnool. “Though Naidu hails from Rayalaseema, he is not keen on development of the region,” Buggana remarked.
‘It’s like threatening’
Stating that Naidu made strange comments during his visit to Kurnool district, Buggana said any politician will tell the people what he had done in the past and what he will do if he Is elected again. But Naidu said the next election will be the last for him if not voted to power. Whom will you threaten, he asked.