Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday urged people to join hands with him to realise the objective of achieving Andhra Pradesh’s legitimate demands such as the Special Category Status and railway zone with Visakhapatnam as headquarters. He was speaking at the ‘Dharma Porata Deeksha.’
Mr. Naidu alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had failed to keep his promises made in Tirupati, Nellore, Amaravati, New Delhi and other places during the election campaign in 2014 and after assuming power.
To drive home the message, the CM made a PowerPoint presentation and also showed video clippings of the speeches made by Mr. Modi. The meagre allocations for the construction of new Capital Amaravati and backward regions showed that the BJP-led government had no regard for the concerns of the people, he added.
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In sharp contrast, ₹3,000 crore was spent the construction of the statue of Sardar Vallabhai Patel in Gujarat and ₹1.1 lakh crore was earmarked for the bullet train project aimed at connecting the cities of Mumbai, New Delhi and Ahmedabad.
Mr. Naidu said even if the Centre did not cooperate, the TDP government would improve infrastructure with ₹46,000 crore in the capital region and would also take up construction of a steel plant in Kadapa and a petrochemical complex in Kakinada.
He accused the Centre of targeting party MPs and leaders by ‘misusing’ institutions such as the Central Bureau of Investigation and and Income-Tax department. “ But we will stand firm and will not rest until our just demands are conceded,” he added. Mr. Naidu defended the tie-up with the Congress, and expressed the hope that Opposition parties would come together to expose the ‘misdeeds’ of NDA government.
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The CM lashed out at the Leader of the Opposition Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy for not raising his voice against the Modi government.
Former Union Minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Deputy Chief Minister N. Chinarajappa, Ministers Kala Venkata Rao, Sujay Krishna Ranga Rao and Nara Lokesh also targeted Mr. Jagan during their speeches.
Srikakulam MP Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu explained the ‘injustice’ meted out to A.P. and the fight of party MPs in New Delhi.
Ministers Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, Ch. Ayyannapatrudu and Ganta Srinivasa Rao were among those present.