Opposition parties in the State must contest the elections under a united front if the ruling YSR Congress Party is to be dislodged from power, said CPI State Secretary K. Ramakrishna, citing the example of the Mahagathbandhan alliance stitched up in Bihar.
The CPI leader was addressing a press meet on Thursday on the eve of the two-day CPI State Conference that is scheduled to begin from Friday.
He, however, admitted that it was easier said than done as the principal opposition parties in the State — the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Jana Sena Party (JSP) — as well as the ruling YSRCP, are toeing the line of the BJP at the Centre.
“Mr. Chandrababu Naidu takes to social media highlighting how Mr. Modi shook hands with him while (government adviser) Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy is happy publicising that Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy had dinner with Mr. Modi. JSP is already in an alliance with the BJP, hence it may be difficult for us to bring all parties under one roof to fight against the BJP in the State. But we shall try,” he said.
“Neither Mr. Jagan nor Mr. Naidu has the courage to speak against the injustice meted out to Bilkis Bano,” he added.
PPrime Minister Narendra Modi talks of freebies in a negative connotation, but the BJP is silent on why the banks have written off the ₹10 lakh crore of debt owed by corporate companies,” he alleged. Taking a dig at the YSRCP, he said Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy has saddled the State with huge debts, leaving the government’s finances in the doldrums.
“In 2014, after bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the share of A.P.’s debt was ₹96,000 crore. Today, it has gone up to ₹8.40 lakh crore. By the time Mr. Jagan completes his term, it is certain to shoot up to ₹10 lakh crore,” he claimed.
The CPI leader said issues like farmer suicides, employment, Special Category Status, privatisation of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, and sale of Krishnapatnam and Gangavaram ports would be deliberated upon at the party conference.
A rally would be taken out from Gandhi Statue to Gurajada Kalakshetram on Friday afternoon, followed by a public meeting, said State assistant secretary J.V. Satyanarayana Murthy.
