The BJP will agitate to exert pressure on the State government to give its concurrence for a major port in the public sector at Ramayapatnam, says its State president Kanna Lakshminarayana.
Addressing the media here after chairing the party minority morcha conference here on Tuesday, he wondered the motive behind announcing a non-major port (NMP) at Ramayapatnam by the government without responding to repeated letters from the Centre to suggest an alternative site to Dugarajapatnam, which had been found “technically non feasible and economically unviable” by the experts. Party Rajya Sabha member G.V.L. Narasimha Rao was present.
The State government’s “indifferent attitude” to the development of Prakasam district gave credence to the view that it was hand-in-glove with a private port player in the neighbouring Nellore district and protecting its “commercial interests,” Mr. Lakshminarayana charged.
The State government should initiate the land acquisition process as the Centre was keen on grounding the public sector port project on getting the State government’s nod.
‘Job racket’
Alleging that the State government had gone for outsourcing of jobs in a indiscriminate manner, disappointing the jobless youth, he demanded a probe by the CBI into the ₹240-crore increase in allocation for the Comprehensive Financial Management System (CFMS), which paved the way for a big job racket with some on rolls taking pay several times in a month allegedly under fictitious names.
Mr. Narasimha Rao said it was unfortunate that the State government was blocking location of a major port at Ramayapatnam at a time when the Centre had identified it as an alternative site.
The TDP government was solely responsible for the “inordinate delay” in grounding the projects for which the Centre had given its nod, he said while referring to the National Investment and Manufacturing Zone at Pamur, which remained a non-starter, and the Kadapa steel plant for want of clarifications sought by the Centre to finalise the project report.
The “neglect” of Prakasam district by State government showed that it was bent upon taking only those projects in select districts where its leaders had “vested commercial interests,” Mr. Narasimha Rao opined.
He dubbed the TDP government as “most corrupt.”“There is a growing realisation among the people that the TDP, in whose rule land and sand mafia ruled the roost, should be ousted in the larger interests of the State.”
The “anti-farmer” TDP government had favoured the contractor implementing the Polavaram project to the tune of about ₹1,800 crore allegedly in violation of the terms and conditions of the contract, he charged.
Rafale deal
Mr. Lakshminarayana asked the opposition parties to stop spreading “canards” over the Rafale deal.
Denying the allegations over the deal, he said no private industrialist had been favoured as alleged by Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
The opposition parties could raise all questions over the deal before the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) instead of demoralising the morale of the Defence forces by making “a mountain out of a mole hill,” he said, and asked Mr. Gandhi to respond to the 15 questions posed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on the issue.
