Throwing yet another hint of moving closer to the BJP, Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday showered praise on the BJP- led NDA , saying it was during its rule that he was able to build Cyberabad and take up many infrastructure projects.
Addressing students at a conclave on “Citizens for accountable governance” in Delhi and sharing platform with Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, Mr. Naidu said it was the coordination between his party and the NDA that many a project came to fruition. The most prominent of these was introduction of cellular services in the country at a time when people were satisfied with merely making trunk calls.
Achievements listed
The other projects that he was proud of were international airport and international convention centre in Hyderabad, he said recalling his tenure as Chief Minister. Andhra Pradesh was made power surplus at that time owing mainly to his reforms in the sector.
A string of prestigious institutions for higher studies came up, including ISB and a law university.
Even while in the opposition, he was the first one to reach out help to pilgrims trapped in floods in Uttarakhand.
He had a word of praise for Mr. Modi too after a warm handshake. He said he was happy to be among students on a day when birth anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri were being celebrated. Turning to the Gujarat Chief Minister, he said it was coincidence that both Mr. Modi and Mahatma Gandhi were born in the same State of Gujarat.
Blaming Congress rule for all the problems faced by the country from corruption to the devaluation of the rupee, he said the earlier the Congress was brought down, the better it was for the country.
His comments in Delhi assume significance in the light of the renewed interest shown by a section of senior Telugu Desam leaders that it would be better for the party to go along with the BJP-led NDA in the 2014 elections both in the State and at the Centre.
Their argument is that the party had fewer options of forging alliances with other parties as the TRS was likely to go with the Congress before elections and the YSR Congress may do the same after the elections.
