Even as Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy directed his party legislators to work towards ensuring victory in all the 175 constituencies in the State, the Opposition parties dared him for a debate on the ‘pathetic situation’ in his home constituency of Pulivendula.
Citing misgovernance, law and order failure and ineffective administration, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Congress have shot a volley of queries to Mr. Jagan, seeking to know why the people of Pulivendula should cast their vote in his favour again.
MLC and TDP State spokesperson Mareddy Ravindranatha Reddy (B. Tech Ravi), who is known as a bete noire of YSR family in Pulivendula constituency, lashed out at the ruling party for the lack of development for over a decade.
“Without building a new bus station, the existing one in Pulivendula town has been razed, forcing the passengers to stay in scorching heat. Is this progressive governance?” he wondered.
Mr. Reddy also accused the police department of harassing and targeting a family in Lingala mandal for merely posting birthday wishes to TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu, which forced its members to make a suicide bid out of humiliation.
Similarly, Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) working president N. Thulasi Reddy said the employees, women, youth, students and farmers of the constituency were disillusioned at the YSRCP regime’s inaction on several fronts.
Referring to the stalemate over former MP Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy’s murder, the ‘threat to life’ perceived by his daughter N. Sunitha Reddy and half a dozen murders witnessed in Pulivendula, he wondered how the common man could feel safe in the constituency.
“The government has ignored crop loans, annulled Pavala Vaddi and Sunna Vaddi schemes, failed to provide remunerative prices for the produce and now is going ahead with electric meters for farm connections. Leave other constituencies, why should the Pulivendula voter cast his vote to you?”, he shot a question to the Chief Minister at a media conference.
He also referred to the protest made by students of IIIT Idupulapaya recently against the ‘inferior quality’ of food served to them.