The Hindu : Naidu defends package of `one crore boons'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 26, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

Naidu defends package of `one crore boons'

By S. Nagesh Kumar

HYDERABAD May 25. The Telugu Desam president, N. Chandrababu Naidu, has defended his package of `one crore boons' as an attempt to strike a balance between welfare and development and not an election gimmick.

These measures do not constitute a reversal of policy since the Government had never really abandoned welfare in favour of development, the Chief Minister said. "In fact, Andhra Pradesh has spent the highest amount of money on welfare,'' he said in an interview on Sunday ahead of the TDP's three-day Mahanadu beginning at Tirupati on May 27.

The TDP chief, who is credited with taking his Government on the fast-track path of economic reforms on the premise that there is no place for `isms' (ideology) in a liberalised economy where the only dharma of a Government is development, said that welfare and development must go hand in hand in any country. The only difference is welfare in India connoted food and employment, whereas it implied benefits for the elderly and the sick in the USA.

Mr. Naidu said the Tirupati Mahanadu would give a clear-cut direction on what the party and the Government should do in the run-up to the Assembly elections due next year. The party manifesto would be finalised at the Mahanadu in Hyderabad in 2004.

The TDP supremo denied that the `koti varaalu' or `one crore boons' was a response to the CLP leader, Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy's `prajaprasthanam.' He said he was unfazed by the padayatra because he had always been among the people by undertaking regular district tours. For the same reason, he did not feel the need for evolving any special strategy to fight the Congress.

Good governance, he said, is itself good politics. Elaborating, he said the winning formula is to evolve a sound policy, implement it effectively and motivate the people. He said people no longer appreciated parties that were pre-occupied with politics and neglected development.

The CLP leader is only misleading people by making tall promises. There is nothing extraordinary in his padayatra since the petitions he is receiving related to individual grievances, which are always bound to be there, and not to community problems.

Focus on agriculture

Mr. Naidu dropped strong hints that the Mahanadu is likely to come up with a package for development of agriculture and sops for farmers. He explained that agriculture required further attention to make the 60 to 70 per cent people dependent on it resilient to recurring drought. To sustain the sector, the Government had spent Rs. 22,500 crores on power subsidy, Rs. 10,500 crores on developing power infrastructure and Rs. 9,800 crores on irrigation. However, problems persist because Karnataka is building illegal dams in the Krishna basin, while the Godavari waters cannot be tapped without building lift irrigation projects. A solution to all these problems is to motivate farmers to practice effective management. There are instances where 1 tmcft of water is irrigating more than 13,000 acres, against the normal of 8,000 acres.

Mr. Naidu said he attached no significance to the campaign by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) about neglect of Telangana since the region had witnessed `leapfrog development' ever since he took over as Chief Minister. For instance, Medak, which was the most neglected district, had recorded a quantum jump in its literacy rate from 32 per cent to 53.5 per cent.

The TDP Government is quite focussed on the objective of developing backward areas by providing the maximum amount of funds. A major portion of funds earmarked for irrigation and power were spent in tackling backwardness and poverty in underdeveloped areas.

Poised for re-election as TDP president for yet another two-year term on May 28, Mr. Naidu said he did not agree with the feeling of neglect aired by some partymen. He said 80 per cent of partymen had expressed satisfaction with his performance when their views were sought at the mini-Mahanadus.

Asked to explain his reluctance to act firmly against TDP leaders indulging openly in group rivalry, he said disciplinary action is the last resort. The party gave everyone a person to reform and initiated disciplinary action only if he did not change, he added.

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