The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government in Andhra Pradesh led by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy “is ridden with corruption,” Union Home Minister Amit Shah has alleged.
Addressing a massive public meeting at the railway football grounds here on June 11 (Sunday), Mr. Amit Shah compared the YSRCP government with that of the UPA government that had ruled the country from 2004 to 2014.
“Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has turned the peaceful city of Visakhapatnam into a haven for anti-social elements, who are indulging in land scams and patronising free trade of drugs.”Amit Shah Union Home Minister
Mr. Amit Shah went to the extent of saying that Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy had turned the peaceful city of Visakhapatnam into a haven for anti-social elements, who were indulging in land scams and patronising free trade of drugs.
“Apart from corruption, the YSRCP government has done nothing for the State,” he alleged.
‘Tall claims’
“He (Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy) calls his government as a farmer-friendly State. If that is the case, then why does Andhra Pradesh rank third in farmer suicides in the country?” he questioned.
Mr. Shah said the money given to the State government by the Centre under the PM Kisan (farmer) insurance scheme was being labelled by Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy as ‘Ryhtu Bharosa’ and disbursed to the people of the State.
More than 11 crore farmers had so far benefited from the scheme as the Central government was transferring a financial aid of ₹6,000 directly into the farmers’ accounts every year.
In a scathing attack on Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the Home Minister said, “The Chief Minister is pasting his photograph on the rice bags as if he is giving them, while the fact is that rice is being supplied by the Union government for the poor.”
He pointed out that under the 10-year UPA rule, Andhra Pradesh had received about ₹78,000 crore as grant-in-aid and under tax devolution, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given more than ₹2.70 lakh crore to the State in the last nine years.
Mr. Shah was here as part of the campaign being run by the BJP across India to highlight the nine-year rule of the NDA under the prime ministership of Mr. Narendra Modi.
‘No development in State’
He said that the Union government had given over ₹5 lakh crore to the State for development in the last nine years, and questioned where had the money gone as no development was being seen.
The National Highway network in the State had gone up from 4,000 km in 2014 to over 9,000 km as on date. The Union government had spent over ₹3 lakh crore for this, and had given over ₹85,000 crore for development under the Sagarmala project, he added.
This apart, the Central government had given two Vande Bharat trains connecting Visakhapatnam to Secunderabad and Tirupati to Secunderabad, and sanctioned about ₹450 crore for the development of the Visakhapatnam railway station.
The Kadapa airport was being revived and the airport in Kurnool ha gone operational. Sanctions were been made for the new international airport at Bhogapuram, he said.
Mr. Shah also pointed out that cities such as Kakinada, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati and Amaravati were being developed as Smart City with the Central government funds. As per the A.P. Reorganisation Act of 2014, over nine Central institutes such as IIT, IIM and three medical colleges had been set up, he added.
“We have also accorded sanction for a bulk drug park in Kakinada,” Mr. Amit Shah said.
Dig at Rahul Gandhi
Taking dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, he said, “Kashmir is an integral part of the country, and when Article 370 was abolished, the Congress leader said that there would be bloodbath, but not even a stone was thrown or pelted by the Kashmiris.”
“During the UPA rule, terrorists from Pakistan used to crossover freely into our country and carry out bomb attacks, but the government then had no guts to check it. Now, they have been silenced. When Pulwama attack took place, Mr. Modi ordered a surgical strike and airstrike within 10 days. This shows the resolve of this government when it comes to the safety and security of our soldiers and borders,” the Union Home Minister said.
Highlighting the welfare schemes of the NDA government, the Home Minister pointed out that the MSP for paddy had gone up from ₹1,400 per quintal to ₹2,060.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, over 70 crore people were getting 5 kg of rice every month. About 10 crore people had been provided with modern toilets. Electricity was provided to almost every house, he said.
“Today, India is a global leader and that has been possible due to Mr. Modi’s charisma,” he said. He urged the people to bring the NDA government back to power in the 2024 general elections. He also exhorted them to see that the NDA wins at least 20 out 25 Lok Sabha seats from Andhra Pradesh.
Senior BJP leaders Somu Veerraju, V. Muraleedharan, G.V.L. Narasimha Rao, D. Purandeswari, N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, C.M. Ramesh, T.G. Venkatesh, P. Vishnu Kumar Raju, Sunil Deodhar, P.V.N Madhav, Y. Satya Kumar and others were present.
