How can Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national president N. Chandrababu Naidu claim that he is responsible for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) withdrawing the ₹2,000 denomination banknotes from circulation, wonders Minister of IT Gudivada Amarnath.
Mr. Naidu’s tweet on May 20 (Saturday) that he had influenced Prime Minister Narendra Modi to do so showed that “he (TDP chief) is not in control of himself,” Mr. Amarnath said told the media.
“The decision has been taken at the highest level,” he added.
‘An opportunist’
When Mr. Modi had first announced demonetisation in 2016, Mr. Naidu, who was an alliance partner in the NDA then, had appreciated the decision and said it was a revolutionary move to curtail black money. But the moment the TDP walked out of the alliance in 2018-19, Mr. Naidu had accused Mr. Modi of taking a wrong decision.
“Mr. Naidu is an opportunist, and people should realise this,” the Minister said.
Criticising Mr. Naidu for his adverse comments on the housing scheme for the poor and the power tariff hikes, Mr. Amarnath said, “Before questioning the government and Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the TDP leader should introspect on what he had done for the poor during his 14-year stint as Chief Minister (including his term in the undivided State).”
Mr. Naidu should remember the fact that three persons had died in police firing at Basheerbagh in Hyderabad in the year 2000 when he was the Chief Minister, and they were protesting against the abnormal power tariff hike, Mr. Amarnath said, and added that the TDP leader had no moral right to speak about power tariffs.
‘Prove land-grab charge’
Taking exception to Mr. Naidu accusing him of grabbing 600 acres of land at Vissannapeta, the Minister said, “If proved, I shall quit politics.”
Instead of criticising the government and creating obstacles, Mr. Naidu should specify what he would do for the State if he was voted to power.
