Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) vice-president Kolanukonda Shivaji has demanded that the Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who has embarked on a State-wide bus yatra “Memantha Siddham” as part of election campaign, furnish explanation on failure of his government on key issues, to the people.
In an open letter addressed to Jagan Mohan Reddy, the Congress leader said people wanted to know the purpose for which the caste census was taken up in the State ahead of the elections, and why the report has not been made public.
Pointing to the High Court verdict on the Group-I services conducted by the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC), Mr. Shivaji said the entire episode reeked of large-scale corruption in selection of candidates. “The YSR Congress Party had miserably failed to provide jobs to the youth. The farce of mega DSC promised to aspiring teachers was a big letdown,” he said.
“Recalling Mr. Jagan’s last election campaign when he had promised to mount pressure on the Centre for grant of Special Category Status (SCS) if people voted for him and his party had 25 representatives in the Parliament,” Mr. Shivaji said the YSR Congress Party had more than 30 representatives in both the Houses of Parliament, but Mr. Jagan did not do anything to achieve SCS.
Mr. Shivaji said in contrast to his promise to implement total prohibition in a phased manner, Mr. Jagan’s government hiked liquor prices, created its new brands and made huge money in the absence of a fool-proof and transparent mechanism in the excise policy. “Leave alone banning liquor, Mr. Jagan’s government has transformed the State into a drug capital of India,” he alleged.
The Congress leader alleged that sand mafia and land grabbing menace was at its peak under the YSR Congress Party rule and Dalits and other backward sections lacked protection. Anti-social elements, with tacit support of the ruling party leaders, resorted to total lawlessness as the State slipped into anarchy.
Mr. Shivaji wants the Chief Minister to give reasons to the people as to why they should vote for his party. “Is it because his government has pushed Andhra Pradesh into a state of bankruptcy, its failure to complete Polavaram project, failure to build a proper capital of the State in the last five years and for remaining silent to the Centre’s plan to privatise the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant?” He also demanded that the Chief Minister spell out his party’s stand on the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC), proposed to be implemented by the Modi government at the Centre.
