VIJAYAWADA: In a no-holds barred attack, Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee chief YS Sharmila Reddy lashed out at her brother and Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, and TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu for pushing the State into a debt trap.
In her first address to the party cadre after formally assuming charge as the president of the State Congress unit in Vijayawada on Sunday, she accused the previous TDP government and the ruling YSRC of borrowing endlessly and burdening the people of Andhra Pradesh with a debt of `10 lakh crore. “One cannot find development in the State even if they look for it with a magnifying glass,” Sharmila quipped.
Mocking Jagan’s tall claims of ensuring welfare for the people, she said the present government does not even have money to pave good roads and pay salaries to government employees on time.
“In the last 10 years, not even 10 big industries have come up in the State to provide jobs. Meanwhile, the State has recorded a 100% rise in attacks on Dalits, while the present administration is focused on sand, liquor and, mining mafia,” she alleged.
Stating that she is proud to assume the office held by her father and former Chief Minister of united Andhra Pradesh, YS Rajasekhara Reddy, the APCC chief opined that the issue of Special Category Status (SCS) for the residual State was silently buried.
Elaborating on how Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh gained from Special Status, she noted, “Had SCS been accorded to the State 10 years ago, Andhra Pradesh would have received tax incentives and investments, thus creating jobs for youth. Not securing Special Category Status sheds light on the inefficiency of those administering the State for the last 10 years.” “While the Congress had proposed to accord SCS to the State for five years, the BJP said it would be accorded for 10 years and Naidu asserted it would be given for 15 years. However, the State has received a big zero so far,” she observed.
Pointing out that Jagan had only raised his voice on the issue of SCS when he was in the opposition, Sharmila noted that since assuming charge as the Chief Minister in 2019, he has not staged a protest for the same. “As a result, the State did not just lose the SCS, but also the special financial package,” she added.
Lambasting Naidu and Jagan for failing to even ensure a capital city for the State in the last 10 years, she remarked, “While the TDP supremo pitched Amaravati as the capital and showed 3D graphics, later Jagan proposed three capitals. However, the State remains without a capital even 10 years after bifurcation.”
Stating that voting for the TDP and YSRC is as good as casting a vote for the BJP, which also betrayed the people of Andhra Pradesh, Sharmila accused both parties of pledging the interests of the State for friendship with the saffron party, thus denying lakhs of jobs for youth in the State. “Twenty-two YSRC MPs and three TDP MPs, along with six Rajya Sabha members from State, have become the BJP’s puppets. An undeclared alliance exists between these three parties,” she claimed.
Further, she accused Naidu and Jagan of failing to complete the Polavaram Irrigation Project and prioritising their own interests.
Describing the BJP as a communal party, Sharmila said her father always opposed the saffron party. The welfare and developed State envisioned by YSR can be possible only if the Congress comes to power, she asserted and urged the people to support the grand old party. Sharmila to begin touring districts from Jan 23
Later, the APCC chief chaired the executive committee meeting of to take stock of the situation and chalk out the future course of action. Mangalagiri MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy and few others joined the Congress.
Speaking to reporters, Sharmila announced that she will begin touring the districts from January 23 and interact with party cadre at all levels. “The party will start receiving applications from ticket aspirants for both the Assembly and Lok Sabha seats from January 24. AICC in-charge for AP Manickam Tagore will receive the first application. Congress will be contesting from all 175 Assembly constituencies and 25 Lok Sabha segments,” she explained.
Dismissing claims that she was a ‘baanam’ (arrow) of someone, she asserted, “I am a person in my own right. Joining the Congress was a conscious choice I made. I contributed to dethroning a dictator in Telangana.”