VIJAYAWADA: Telugu Desam Party chief and leader of Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu claimed that many YSRC MLAs were in touch with TDP. This striking claim by Naidu came in the wake of TDP clinching victory in the Graduates MLC elections and the MLA-elected MLC polls.
Launching a broadside against Chief Minister and YSRC chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy during an interaction with media persons at the party headquarters in Mangalagiri on Saturday, Naidu asserted, “Those with common sense should not continue in the YSRC. No one should be there in the disrespectful YSRC. Jagan has no right to continue in public life.”
While taking a dig at the claim of the YSRC leaders that their MLAs were sold out when the TDP won the MLC seat under the MLAs quota, Naidu sought to know what about the four TDP MLAs supporting the YSRC. He demanded Jagan send the four MLAs out of the YSRC.
“We have the strength of 23 MLAs. Though YSRC had the numbers to win all the seven MLC seats, Jagan fielded candidates without common sense,” he pointed out.“We fielded the candidate for the MLC seat to safeguard the law and dharma,” Naidu maintained.
Recalling the statement Jagan that those deserting from other parties should join the YSRC only after resigning from their posts, Naidu sought to know what explanation the former will give on taking four of the TDP MLAs into his party fold. Observing that the recent results of the Legislative Council polls have come as a shock to YSRC, he claimed that the people of Andhra were ready to send Jagan home. “People are totally unhappy with the functioning of the Jagan government,” Naidu asserted.
Describing YSRC challenging TDP to contest in all the 175 Assembly constituencies as meaningless, he said that his target is to defeat Jagan’s party in all the 175 seats. Naidu expressed concern that the State has plunged into a deep debt burden as the total debts have now reached a whopping Rs 10.31 lakh crore. “The Chief Minister, on one hand, is imposing heavy taxes on the people, while he is borrowing lakhs of crores. As much as Rs 96,000 crore has been borrowed by the YSRC govt this year alone. Where is this money going? I am really unable to understand as to which way the State is moving,” he said with surprise.
Despite such huge borrowings, the Chief Minister has neither completed the Polavaram project nor constructed even a single road in any part of the State, he remarked. “Even the salaries of the employees are not being paid properly, moreover, there are no subsidies for farmers. Then what happened to Rs 10.31 lakh crore? This clearly indicates that the funds are being misused,” he said.
Maintaining that the per capita income of Telangana has now reached Rs 3.08 lakh, Naidu said that this is all because of the decisions taken earlier which yielded the best results now. “Telangana is enjoying the fruits now,” he commented. “But the per capita income of Andhra Pradesh is Rs 2.19 lakh and one can easily imagine the difference between the two States,” he pointed out.
The TDP supremo made it clear that the party will stand by YSRCP MLA Undavallai Sridevi, who is facing harassment. He also condemned the attack on the BJP leaders. When contacted, Industries and Commerce Minister Gudivada Amarnath said that Naidu was playing mind games by making tall claims like many of the YSRC leaders are in touch with the TDP.
“In fact, Naidu never believed in people and always trusted mind games for his politics,” he averred. “If Naidu is really confident that his party has good prospects and many of the leaders are ready to join his party, why doesn’t he announce that the TDP will contest from all the 175 Assembly segments,” the minister questioned.