KURNOOL: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu lacks commitment towards the welfare of farmers and has failed to complete any irrigation project in the last three years, alleged YSR Congress president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday.
Addressing a public meeting at Dornala in Prakasam district on the second day of his Rythu Bharosa Yatra, Mr. Jagan said though the State reeled under successive droughts and untimely rainfall after Mr. Naidu came to power, he was more concerned about the interests of contractors, but not farmers.
Demanding a budgetary allocation of Rs. 1,000 crore for expediting work on Veligonda project, Mr. Jagan said the budgetary outlay of Rs. 100 crore for the project was a pittance. Under the project, the first tunnel was dug for 13.73 km out of a total length of 18.82 km, and 10 km in the second tunnel of 18.83 km. The head regulator works must be completed by the time the tunnels were completed, but the works were yet to be taken up, he said and wondered if the project would be completed even after a decade.
The groundwater table has depleted to 1,000 feet in Rayalaseema region, Kurnool and Prakasam districts, but the government was not providing any relief to farmers, he lamented. Exuding confidence that the YSRC would come to power in the general elections in 2019, Mr. Jagan asserted that he would bring back the golden rule of YSR and ensure completion of all the irrigation projects on a war-footing.
Defections
Accusing Mr. Naidu of engineering defections and luring MLAs and corporators elected on YSRC ticket, the Opposition leader demanded disqualification of those joining the ruling party without resigning their positions. It should lead to bypolls if the rules were strictly followed, he said, and charged Mr. Naidu with lacking respect for democracy.
Recalling that his father Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy had constructed 42 lakh houses in the unified State, he said the TDP government failed to build even a house for the poorer sections since 2014. The TDP government was playing truant with students by not granting funds for fee reimbursement.
The Arogyasri health scheme was being shelved by Mr. Naidu and a new pension was being granted only in place of a deceased pensioner. Mr. Jagan appealed to the people to strive together to get back YSR rule.
