VIJAYAWADA: Days after Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy reportedly pulled up some of his cabinet colleagues for not effectively countering the Opposition propaganda against the government, at least five ministers launched a vitriolic attack on TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday.
Assembly Speaker Tammineni Sitaram too joined the rhetoric. This also comes a day ahead of Maha Padayatra of the Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi from Amaravati to Arasavalli with a demand that Amaravati should remain as the sole capital of Andhra Pradesh.
It may be recalled that Jagan, during the last Cabinet meeting, had asked his cabinet colleagues to give a strong reply to the Opposition criticism against the government schemes. It is learnt that officials were asked to send clippings of the media reports against the government to the ministers to retort back.
Leading from the front was I&PR Minister Ch Srinivasa Venugopala Krishna who went on to say that Naidu, who failed to fulfil the promises he made to the people, did not have the right to continue in politics.
The minister said the YSRC government would be fulfilling 98.44% of its poll promises with the implementation of YSR Kalyanamastu and Shaadi Tohfa. He spoke to the media in Ramachandrapuram of Kakinada district. In Tadepalli YSRC office, another minister Meruga Nagarjuna detailed the welfare schemes launched by the YSRC government for the SCs and how the previous government had gone back on implementing the schemes meant for them. “Naidu is a traitor of SCs. He opposed allotment of lands to SCs in Amaravati stating that it would lead to demographic imbalance,’’ he said.
It was Speaker Sitaram who went hammer and tongs at Naidu and the padayatra of Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi was backed by him. “What is your problem with the three-capital proposal? How can you say that Uttarandhra does not deserve the executive capital? You want Amaravati as the State capital only to benefit the people of your community,’’ Sitaram thundered in Srikakulam. He maintained that Uttarandhra is still lagging behind in several aspects like education and others.“The proposed yatra is nothing but to serve the interests of people of 29 villages in Amaravati. It is a dandayatra on Uttarandhra,’’ he alleged.
Energy Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, speaking in Tirupati, hit back at the reports against Kalyanamastu and Shaadi Tohfa and also against mining in a section of the media. He alleged that Naidu’s followers and friends were involved in the Delhi liquor scam. Ministers Botcha Satyanarayana and Vidadala Rajini also slammed the TDP chief for bid to instigate Amaravati farmers against the YSRC government.