No political realignment likely for now, says AP CM

In an interview to The Hindu on the eve of completion of two years in office, Mr.Chandrababu Naidu said he was satisfied with the achievements of his government.

June 04, 2016 12:15 am | Updated November 17, 2021 01:45 am IST - VIJAYAWADA:

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu does not foresee any distinct change in the near future to trigger the emergence of a front comprising regional parties.

What he does expect is a further slide of the Congress, which he says is out of sync with the changing times.

In an interview to The Hindu on the eve of completion of two years in office, Mr. Naidu said he was satisfied with the achievements of his government. He said this was reflected in the double digit growth (10.99 per cent) against the national figure of 7.5 per cent, “despite challenges on all fronts.” But he was overcoming such difficulties through “some out-of-the-box thinking” and “leveraging technology”.

Mr. Naidu brushed aside criticism of his plans for the State’s new capital city, Amaravati, saying he would have to think big with a long-term vision and perspective.

Mr. Naidu said Amaravati cannot be seen from the narrow prism of a small town that grows gradually. It should be seen as a world-class city that attracts investment and generates employment. He added that while shaping and nurturing Amaravati, he was not neglecting the backward districts of Rayalaseema and North Coastal Andhra where irrigation projects would be completed on a war-footing. Adequate funds would be provided to the regions.

Excerpts from the interview:

Do you foresee the coming together of regional parties and formation of a front, now that they are deeply entrenched, winning elections after elections as in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu?

I do not see any drastic political change that will lead to an alternative political formation of regional parties. I think there will be status quo. Elections are three years away and people seem to be happy wherever they are with the existing political establishments. The recent (Assembly) elections show that it is performance that wins votes. Voters are much more aware than what they were earlier. One thing that could happen is further weakening of the Congress as it has not only lost its moorings but is just about unable to gauge the pulse of the people who are looking forward to all-round change.

Relations between the Telugu Desam Party and the BJP in Andhra Pradesh are under strain over the issue of granting Special Category Status to the State, flow of funds for the capital and the Polavaram irrigation project.

It is a minor difference of opinion and perception. Do not attach too much of importance to it. We have good relations and we will maintain it. We will not get anything if we keep fighting with the Centre. I have gone to New Delhi 19 times and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Cabinet colleagues understand our problems. I am hopeful that they will do justice to Andhra Pradesh which was left with no capital city and had a revenue deficit of Rs. 16,000 crore. Given our cordial relationship, we are sure the Centre will bail us out. We cannot act on impulse as the Opposition (YSRCP and Congress) wants us to do — walk out of the alliance and precipitate matters. Their call is politically motivated. After BJP president Amit Shah called me, we shared one Rajya Sabha seat with the BJP in the interest of the State. (Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu got elected.)

How do you look at the last two years of TDP government in Andhra Pradesh?

It has been very satisfying. Despite facing multiple problems, we could deliver all our election promises. We fulfilled the promise of farm loan waiver accounting to Rs. 24,000 crore. We are giving enhanced pensions to 43 lakh people. We have successfully taken up the project of inter-linking rivers through the Rs. 1,300 crore Pattiseema project, involving the transfer of river water from Godavari to Krishna, both to stabilise the acreage in the delta region and take water to the parched Rayalaseema region. Our Capital city, Amaravati, which will be one of the world’s best, is taking shape thanks to the sacrifices made by the farmers who gave away their lands. In the CII meet, industrialists showed the intent to invest Rs. 4 lakh crore. In a short period, we achieved 10.99 per cent growth rate against all-India’s 7.5 per cent, stood second among the States in ease of doing business, and third in attracting FDI.

What do you have to say about Opposition parties and experts finding fault with your vision of the Capital spread over 33,000 acres. They say it is too ambitious, not very practical and too risky as it is coming up on the Krishna river bank.

What else can you expect from the Opposition? A capital city should be an economic growth engine, as it is with all world-class cities and in India. Look at Hyderabad, it generates an income of over Rs. 40,000 crore, thanks to the way I worked hard to pitchfork it into the world’s IT map. The Hyderabad economy now takes care of entire Telangana. There was lot of criticism then too. But now people only have compliments for Hyderabad. So is the case with Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai. Our vision of a city should be for 100 years, even 1000 years. The lifespan of capital cities is much more than our own. We should not curtail our thinking. We should not narrow down our vision of a capital city to a small village or a town having huts and houses here and there. It should be truly a world class city, reflecting contemporary thinking, one that attracts investments, industry and creates a lot of jobs. About risks like flooding, we will overcome it by adopting the right kind of building technology.

There is criticism that from planning to building of the capital you are relying too much on countries like Singapore, Japan and China rather than looking at local talent.

What is wrong in it? I want to bring the best practices from around the world. After all, I have a vision of a world class city. I was impressed by the way they have built their cities and I want to involve them in building Amaravati. It is wrong to say I am ignoring Indian talent and India- based construction giants. The interim building of the Secretariat is the work of Indian companies.

Some say your interest in the capital is at the expense of the backward districts of Rayalaseema and North Coastal Andhra. What is your view?

It is only a perception. We have provided sufficient funds for the Hundri Neeva Srujala Sravanthi and Galeru Nagari and Valigonda irrigation projects in Rayalaseema and Vamsadhara in North Coastal Andhra. I have visited all these projects and am closely monitoring their progress. In addition, we have taken up a massive programme of water harvesting structures everywhere. It has already borne results with 25,000 ponds full to the brim in Anantapur. The ground water level is rising. Sri City in Chittoor is emerging as an industrial hub. We are promoting industries in Anantapur as it in close proximity to Bengaluru.

You have appealed to the people to elect the TDP to power continuously till 2050. Don’t you think it is preposterous and undemocratic?

(He has a hearty laugh) When I am giving everything to the people through different schemes and pushing up their happiness index, I think I have a right to seek their votes. It is linked to good governance and delivering people want. I have been leveraging technology both to cut down leakages in various government schemes and increase savings. (Grabbing an IPad, he shows how pensions have already reached 63 % of the beneficiaries on June 3). I am running a corruption-free, transparent system of governance with full accountability and taking care of all the basic necessities of people and maintaining good law and order. All this will come to a nought if people vote for another party.

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