Reiterating the party’s commitment to establishing three capitals for Andhra Pradesh, the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) Guntur Lok Sabha candidate Kilari Venkata Rosaiah, said that once the party regains power, Visakhapatnam would function as the executive capital, and Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy will hold his oath-taking ceremony and start working from there.
During an interview with The Hindu amid his hectic campaign schedule on Monday here, Mr. Rosaiah, the sitting MLA from Ponnur Assembly Constituency expressed his confidence in winning the ongoing elections as the Lok Sabha member, despite protests from Amaravati farmers.
Stating that there was no need to acquire 55,000 acres for the capital, he alleged that TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu destroyed the agricultural land and production of the region. “Amaravati is not a self-sustained project, as claimed by Mr. Naidu since the government must invest money first. If it was a self-sustained project, then why did Mr. Naidu fail to construct it?” he questioned.
He maintained that the people-centric initiatives of Jagan, including welfare schemes, transparent governance, infrastructure like RBKs, village and ward secretariat buildings, village clinics, and emphasis on health and education under the ‘Nadu-Nedu’ scheme, among others are going to be key in solidifying Jagan’s win for the second time. In the same vein, he asserted that his win would be determined by his contribution to developing the Ponnur segment in the last five years, such as spending at least ₹1 crore per village on social infrastructure.
Referring to his main opponent Pemmasani Chandrasekhar, the NDA candidate fielded by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Guntur, Mr. Rosaiah alleged that Mr. Pemmasani did not contribute to society as he did not pay taxes in India.
He also criticised Mr. Naidu for failing to bring any tangible development or welfare during his 14-year-long tenure, while stating that Jagan fostered growth in agriculture, health and education sectors.
