Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national president N. Chandrababu Naidu said on January 5 that the past glory of Andhra Pradesh would be restored only if the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) was defeated in the upcoming elections, and that it was not just his and Jana Sena Party (JSP) president Pawan Kalyan’s responsibility, but of the five crore people of the State.
Addressing a well-attended public meeting organised as part of the TDP’s ‘Raa Kadali Raa’ programme, at Kanigiri in Prakasam district, Mr. Naidu said Andhra Pradesh was lagging behind other States due to the failures of YSRCP government, which gave “₹10 to the people with one hand and robbed them of ₹100 with the other.” But the people were in a bind having elected the YSRCP by yielding to the “one chance” plea of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
He called upon the people to compare the performance of the TDP and YSRCP governments, and then to a conclusion on which party was committed and better equipped to end their woes.
“Andhra Pradesh has the potential to become No.1 State in India. It is possible only with the TDP, which has a proven track record of good governance and leadership that is really dedicated to the well-being of the masses,” Mr. Naidu said.
The TDP would strike the right balance between development and welfare, whereas the YSRCP government laid overemphasis on welfare at the cost of development, and insisted that wealth creation was the most important thing a government should do.
‘No job calendar’
Mr. Naidu said there was no job calendar, investments dried up and the policies implemented by the YSRCP government did more harm than good to the people. Law and order went for a toss during the YSRCP regime, and the State became a hub for ganja cultivation. Power tariffs were jacked up over the years to the detriment of the common people, he added.
The steep rise in the prices of essential commodities and a hike in various taxes were a bane of the people. The State was saddled with a huge debt of ₹13 lakh crore. The cure for all this mess was the election of the TDP-JSP alliance, he exhorted the voters.
TDP promises
Mr. Naidu said a ‘special protection Act’ would be introduced for the Backward Classes (BCs) and the A.P. Land Titling Act abolished. A SIT would be constituted to identify the lands that had been grabbed in order to restore them to their rightful owners. The prices of liquor would be reduced and quality alcohol sold after the TDP-JSP combine forms the government, he said. Women who turned 18 would be given ₹1,500 per month as ‘Aadabidda Nidhi’ under the ‘Mahasakthi’ scheme, and three LPG cylinders would be provided per year under the Deepam scheme, Mr. Naidu promised.
Besides, women would be provided free travel by buses, farmers would be given an assistance of ₹20,000 every year and the government would give a monthly unemployment allowance of ₹3,000 to youth. A total of 20 lakh jobs would be created in five years, he added.
