Former Union Minister Chinta Mohan alleged that Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu was deceiving the youth repeatedly with false promises that he would create 20 lakh jobs within the next five years.
Speaking to the villagers at Podalakuru during the door-to-door campaign of the Congress, on Tuesday, Mr. Chinta Mohan said that Mr. Naidu was gravely unfair to the youth in Tirupati and Nellore districts by shelving the ₹6000 crore Mannavaram BHEL factory near Venkatagiri and ₹8000 crore Dugarajapatnam port near Nellore in 2014 when he returned to power after the bifurcation of the State.
“Naidu also stopped the Srikalahasti-Nadikudi railway line project. His promises of creating jobs in the state is a big farce,” the Congress leader said. “By halting these three major projects, Mr. Naidu had robbed lakhs of youth in south coastal Andhra Pradesh of their employment opportunities, and contributed to the backwardness of the region,” he added.
Tirupati as the State capital
The former MP said that both the TDP and the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) governments had failed to realise a State capital for Andhra Pradesh in the last decade.
“Neither Naidu’s Amaravati nor Jagan’s Visakhapatnam plans for a capital succeeded. At this juncture, Tirupati alone is the best suited as the capital, with the availability of government land to the tune of one lakh acres between Yerpedu in Tirupati district and Rapur in Nellore district. The Congress will renew its action plan to make Tirupati the State capital once it comes to power,” Chinta Mohan said, adding that the famous 17th-century saint Pothuluri Veerabrahmendra Swamy of the present Kadapa district had prophesied Tirupati as the capital in his oracle ‘Kala Gnanam’.
He concluded by saying that the Congress was progressively regaining its stronghold over the State, which would be reflected in the ensuing elections.
