Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national president N. Chandrababu Naidu urged the people to vote for the TDP-BJP-JSP alliance if they wanted development of Andhra Pradesh, while castigating the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) for “pushing the State backward in the last five years starting with the demolition of Praja Vedika”.
The TDP chief said he would strive to realise former Chief Minister and TDP founder N.T. Rama Rao’s dream of eradicating poverty, adding that he would rededicate himself to social justice and welfare of the masses, especially Dalits.
Addressing a public meeting as part of his ‘Praja Galam’ election campaign in Pamarru (SC) Assembly constituency on Sunday, Mr. Naidu said the YSRCP government had failed to implement the Amaravati capital city project and the Polavaram irrigation project — which he said were crucial for the development of Andhra Pradesh.
“Amaravati could have become a growth engine for the State. The Polavaram project was essential for the agriculture sector in the Krishna delta to flourish, and coupled with the interlinking of rivers, it would have helped in reviving the agriculture sector across the State. Almost 72% of the Polavaram project’s construction was completed under the TDP regime. Amaravati would have become the No. 1 capital city in the country by now had the TDP been voted to power in 2019. But the YSRCP government made a mess of both projects,” the TDP chief said, adding that under the present dispensation, Andhra Pradesh gained notoriety as a hub for narcotics and for atrocities committed on underprivileged sections.
Flanked by Vallabhaneni Balashowry, Jana Sena Party’s (JSP) candidate for the Machilipatnam Lok Sabha constituency, and Varla Kumar Raja, TDP candidate for Pamarru constituency, Mr. Naidu said he would set up a corporation for the welfare of agricultural labourers and tenant farmers and extend an allowance of ₹3,000 to unemployed youth and a pension of ₹4,000 for the physically-challenged. Pensions, including for the April-June quarter, would be delivered to beneficiaries at their doorstep, he added.
“The TDP-BJP-JSP government will conduct a ‘Mega DSC’ as part of its mission to provide 20 lakh jobs in five years. The focus will be on wealth creation. Two cents of land will be given to the landless poor and houses constructed on them,” Mr. Naidu said.
“The YSRCP government had scrapped 27 welfare schemes to the detriment of the weaker sections. It also pushed the State into a debt trap through its irresponsible and illogical policies,” Mr. Naidu said.
