Making a strong pitch to attract the people of Telangana to his party in the elections, TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu not only shouted the “Jai Telangana” slogan but also made his cadres chant it at the end of his speech in Haliya on Sunday.
In his bid to win the hearts of the people of the region and gain maximum votes, Mr. Naidu claimed it was he who had first initiated the process for formation of separate Telangana. Ridiculing TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s claims on his 13-year-long struggle to achieve Telangana, he said KCR was only making tall claims.
During his tour of Nalgonda district, Mr. Naidu tried to extend an olive branch to pro-Telangana protagonists, saying his party had always stood for the development of the region.
The TDP president promised to make Nagarjunasagar a major educational hub in the country by setting up world-class institutions to enable the poor and tribal people to pursue higher education. He said habitations located close to Nagarjunasagar had a concentration of tribal populace, adding that there was a need to establish a tribal university in the river town.
Addressing a public meeting, he accused local Congress MLA K. Jana Reddy of failing to provide proper education in his constituency, though he had represented the Haliya seat six times. Mr. Naidu took potshots at Mr. Reddy, saying Haliya does not have an engineering college.
Mr. Naidu said the TDP-BJP combine would transform Nagarjunasagar into a world-class tourist place by providing the necessary infrastructure. He said that they had struck an alliance with the BJP for providing a stable government in the State and at the Centre.