The government led by YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) should hang its head in shame following Telangana Panchayat Raj Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao’s comments that people of Andhra Pradesh are drying their clothes on power lines, says the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
Referring to Mr. Dayakar Rao’s comments that “Telangana is progressing and A.P. is regressing,” TDP Polit Bureau member Kimidi Kala Venkata Rao, in a press release on September 8 (Friday), questioned, “Is Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy not ashamed of such comments?”
Mr. Venkata Rao, who was a former Energy Minister, said the YSRCP had destroyed the power sector in the State.
The TDP government had ushered in many reforms in the power sector, which helped in ensuring uninterrupted power supply during its tenure, Mr. Venkata Rao said.
In fact, during the TDP tenure, Andhra Pradesh was a power surplus State, he said. “The inefficiency of the YSRCP government has led to power-cuts and steep hikes in tariffs. The neighbouring States are mocking Andhra Pradesh,” Mr. Venkata Rao said.
When TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu was the Chief Minister, there had been no hike in power tariffs. Mr. Naidu had ensured 24-hour power supply to the domestic sector and seven-hour free power supply to the agriculture sector, he said.
The YSRCP government failed to maintain the tempo. “Leave alone the luxury of 24-hour power supply, the people are being burdened with true-up charges, cess etc,” he said.
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy, in the run-up to the elections in 2019, had promised that he would bring about revolutionary changes in the power sector, but forgot to keep his promise after coming to power, Mr. Venkata Rao alleged.
Except for the Chief Minister’s residence, the entire State was reeling under unscheduled power-cuts, he added.
