VIJAYAWADA : Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Thursday claimed that Andhra Pradesh has witnessed the YSRC’s vindictive and corrupt rule in the past five years. Addressing the media in Vijayawada during his one-day visit to the State, the BJP leader alleged that the State has experienced a string of failures marked by misgovernance at the highest levels in the last five years.
He noted that despite Central grants to the tune of Rs 15,000 crore being released for Polavaram project, the government failed to complete it due to corruption, thus betraying the farmers of the State.
“Despite the fact that ‘YSR’ in the YSR Congress Party’s name stands for ‘Yuvajana, Shramik and Rythu’, the youth, workers and farmers have been neglected. The State suffered mismanagement under Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. Despite the immense potential in the State and its previous status as a fast-developing region, the last five years have seen it overrun by the sand, land and liquor mafias,” he claimed.
He added Central schemes designed to benefit the poor were not fully executed in the State. The Narendra Modi-led Centre approved approximately 21.32 lakh homes for the State under PMAY, but the ruling YSRC only managed to distribute 3.25 lakh homes to beneficiaries, he alleged. He expressed hope that once TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu becomes the chief minister, the State will be placed on the path of progress by a double-engine government.
Union minister accuses YSRC govt of diverting Rs 8,000 crore Panchayat funds
He assured people that the TDP-led NDA alliance in the State will prioritise the completion of Polavaram, ensuring that Godavari water flows into every household and farm.
On the issue of setting up of a railway zone as promised, the Union minister alleged that the YSRC government has not yet provided suitable land in Visakhapatnam. He asserted that the alliance would win and the new government would allocate land for the construction of the special railway zone.
He accused the state government of diverting Rs 8,000 crore in panchayat grants between 2019–20 and 2022–23.
The Union Minister stated that the country’s GDP ranking has improved from 11th to 5th globally, and it is poised to become the third-largest economy in the next five years.
During Modi’s tenure, 20 crore people emerged out of poverty without discrimination based on religion, caste, or state, with the measures implemented by the Centre, he added.
Piyush Goyal highlighted the success of the striking down of Article 370, which he said facilitated the integration of Kashmir into India.