Minister for Transport and I&PR Perni Venkataramaiah (Nani) on Saturday said the recent political developments in the State have exposed the double standards of the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
“It was former Chief Minister and TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu and his men who challenged the government to go for an inquiry into the Amaravati land deals. However, when the investigation began, the same people are trying their best to stall it. This exposes their double standards,” the Minister told reporters at the YSR Congress Party’s Central Party Office here on Saturday.
“All the bravado of the TDP went for a toss once the probe began and the TDP leaders petitioning the court to stall the investigation,” Mr. Nani said.
While asserting that their government continues to hold the judiciary in the highest regard, Mr. Nani said that “some institutions” in the State seem to be arrogant and that there seemed to be an overreach of independent institutions.
Reiterating that Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy had always spoken about the land scam in the State, Mr. Nani said the investigation has vindicated his stand. There is every need to take up the issue at the national-level and it was raised in Parliament, he said.
“These investigations are not about individuals or political parties but it is about the wealth of the State that was plundered by the previous government. Hence, we are answerable to the people of the State. These issues will not deter us from carrying out what we had promised to the people about the irregularities of the previous government,” he said.
On the alleged attacks on temples in the State, Mr. Nani alleged that Mr. Naidu was working towards disturbing the communal harmony in the State.
Responding to the criticism unleashed against the State government for levying road cess on commercial vehicles travelling through the State, Mr. Nani said that the decision was taken only towards road maintenance. He pointed out that it was far less than the ₹3,750 collected by the Central Government through tolls in the State from the trucks travelling through Andhra Pradesh.
He added that Mr. Naidu and other TDP leaders have no moral ground to criticise the YSRCP government on the road cess, alleging that the State exchequer had been looted under the previous government.
Meanwhile, at a separate press conference, Agriculture Minister Kurasala Kannababu reiterated the need for a national-level debate on functions and overreach of the four pillars of democracy.
The Minister said that there are many instances in history where the irregularities of the previous government were probed and asserted that inquiries can be conducted on issues pertaining to preceding governments. Regarding the gag order on the media, the Minister said that there were cases against former Supreme Court judges but never was such a gag order issued. “But why are the former Advocate General or his associates, including the kin of a serving judge, so special so as to attract the extraordinary provisions of a gag order is something people are unable to understand,” he said.
