Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday said Telangana region had developed only during his party’s regime in Andhra Pradesh.
“It is only the TDP that contributed to the development of Telangana. I am ready for an open debate on this,” Mr. Naidu, a former chief minister, said after unfurling the national flag at NTR Bhavan on the occasion of Hyderabad Liberation Day.
It was TDP founder-president and former Chief Minister N T Rama Rao who encouraged the backward classes by giving them several opportunities for growth. By abolishing the ‘Patel - Patwari’ system in the villages, NTR brought about a new awakening among the people of Telangana, he said.
Mr. Naidu also took credit for infusing life into Singareni Collieries, considered as ‘the lifeline of Telangana’, and ensuring that it did not close.
The State went downhill during his successor Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s regime, he said.
Telugu Desam Parliamentary Party leader Nama Nageswara Rao and other senior leaders from Telangana were present on the occasion.
