Jana Sena Party (JSP) president Pawan Kalyan has said that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has no love for the North Andhra region.
“The YSRCP has decided to make Visakhapatnam the Executive capital of the State not due to its love for the region, but with an eye on its lands, real estate and investments,” Mr. Pawan Kalyan said while addressing the media here on conclusion of the third phase of his Varahi Yatra on Friday.
Mr. Pawan Kalyan said that over 50% of the grievances aired during the Jana Vani programme in the city on Thursday were related to the land issues.
Land scams, exploitation of natural resources, including bauxite mining, and crime rate increased in the region, including in Visakhapatnam, he alleged.
Mr. Pawan Kalyan said that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy “is a businessman, and not a politician.”
The JSP chief said the response to this leg of Varahi Yatra was huge. “The anti-incumbency is palpable. The way the JSP has been fighting over issues of public interest is making it a people’s party,” he said.
“Instead of giving appropriate answers to the questions being raised and acting on the atrocities being brought to light by the JSP, the YSRCP leaders are resorting to personal abuses,” Mr. Pawan Kalyan said.
Referring to the Centre’s move to privatise the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), Mr. Pawan Kalyan said the JSP had always been appealing to the Union Ministers to rethink, keeping in mind the sentiments of the people and the sacrifices made to achieve the facility in the city. We had urged the Union Ministers to allot captive mines to the VSP to bring it out of the red, he added.
On the contrary, the YSRCP, despite having 151 MLAs and 22 MPs, did little to tide over the crisis, he alleged.
Hinting at the probable alliances ahead of the 2024 elections, Mr. Pawan Kalyan said whatever be the permutations and combinations, the target was to show the YSRCP government the door. He reiterated that there should not be a split in the anti-YSRCP votes.
When asked what was stopping him from criticising the TDP for its policies during its term, Mr. Pawan Kalyan said, “When I did not like the policies, I have spoken about it even before the Prime Minister. I have done the same during the TDP rule also. If Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy runs the administration well, I would be a happy person. The law and order situation in the State is deteriorating. The Chief Minister is not concerned about missing of girls, exploitation of natural resources and land scams. In comparison, the TDP rule was better.”
JSP leader Nadendla Manohar was among others present.
