Telugu Desam Party (TDP) politburo member Yanamala Ramakrishnudu on Thursday termed “the joke of the century” Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s statement describing “taking bribes as a crime.”
In a statement on Thursday, the former Finance minister said that Mr. Jagan had no moral right or standing to speak about corruption as he himself was accused number 1 in over 14 quid pro quo charge sheets. Mr. Jagan plundered public wealth during his father YS Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR)‘s rule in combined Andhra Pradesh, he alleged. His greed and loot continued after he became Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.
Having looted all systems and sectors in the State, Mr. Jagan was now talking about rooting out corruption. If taking bribes by the officials were to be considered as a crime, what about Mr. Jagan’s quid pro quo deals? he asked.
Mr. Ramakrishnudu said that the so-called social justice that Mr. Jagan was boasting of was just lip service which had zero implementation in practice. Mr. Jagan had not done justice to any social group or community in the past three years. He had crushed poorer sections so much that Andhra Pradesh stood in 20th place in the whole country in the multidimensional poverty index (MDPI) prepared by the Oxford University. Andhra Pradesh had climbed from 34 to 43rd place economic imbalances, he said.
The TDP leader dared the Chief Minister to explain why Andhra Pradesh fell to the 19th place in the country in direct benefit transfer (DBT). Amma Vodi was not being given to eligible families. As a result, their students were not getting admissions in colleges. Mr. Jagan has failed totally in providing educational opportunities to the weaker sections, he alleged.
The TDP leader lamented that the National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021 report by the Union HRD Ministry had exposed how badly the education system in Andhra Pradesh had been harmed.
