The State government has turned bankrupt under the Congress dispensation in spite of levying hefty taxes and heavy borrowing because of corruption, former Chief Minister and TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu has said.
Addressing a well-attended meeting at Kasimkota junction as part of the ‘Vastunna.. Meekosam’ padayatra on Tuesday, he recalled that when he had borrowed Rs. 50,000 crore, he was accused of following the World Bank’s diktat. But now, the State’s debt stood at a whopping Rs.1.8 lakh crore.
In spite of a massive budget of Rs.1.6 lakh crore, of which Rs.70,000 crore came in the form of VAT alone, people faced several hardships, including lack of water and medicines in government hospitals and rising prices of essential commodities.
“All taxes paid by people were looted during the YSR regime and the late Chief Minister benefited his son. YSR, his followers, and an auditor regularly met to amass wealth through corrupt means, according to the late Chief Minister’s personal aide Suryanaryana alias Sureedu,” Mr. Naidu charged.
The CBI stated that Rs.1 lakh crore was the wealth looted, he pointed out. “The State was thrown into a turmoil, causing people a number of problems,” Mr. Naidu said on the 204 day of his yatra. Narrating the story of a greedy man who wanted the Midas touch, he said it was YSR’s greed that landed his son Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy in jail.
Lashing out at those joining the YSR Congress, Mr. Naidu said they were paying a visit to the jail to join that party. While the YSRCP leaders were lodged in Cherlapally jail, others who had indulged in corruption were in the Secretariat or going to the CBI court at Nampally. The Chief Minister was busy shielding “tainted Ministers such as Sabitha Indra Reddy, Dharmana Prasada Rao,” Mr. Naidu charged. He asserted that BCs would be given 100 seats in the Assembly elections, a Rs.10,000 crore exclusive allocation for their welfare, and reiterated his commitment for categorisation of SCs.
Actor Nandamuri Tarakaratna accompanied Mr. Naidu on Tuesday.
Control of liquor flow
TDP will try to control the flow of liquor if it is voted back to power, Mr Naidu has said.He assured them that his padayatra was to improve the lives of people and if voted to power he would serve them like the eldest son in a family.
