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Modi takes dig at Jagan, asks people to vote for NDA in Andhra Pradesh
PM Narendra Modi on Monday said the NDA wave is sweeping across the country, and asserted that the NDA would emerge victorious in the next week’s Vidhan Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh to herald a “Viksit Andhra” (developed Andhra) on the lines of “Viksit Bharat” (developed India)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) wave is sweeping across the country, and asserted that the NDA would emerge victorious in the next week’s Vidhan Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh to herald a “Viksit Andhra” (developed Andhra) on the lines of “Viksit Bharat” (developed India).
Addressing a rally at Vemagiri near Rajahmundry of Andra Pradesh’s East Godavari district, Modi launched his first ever direct attack on the YSR Congress Party-led by chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
The Prime Minister said the people of Andhra Pradesh have completely rejected the YSRCP, alleging that the Jagan government had not only wasted its mandate in the last five years but also let the state’s potential go to waste.
“When Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president Chandrababu Naidu was in power, this state was at the peak of its league. But the YSRCP government derailed all that progress. Instead of working for the welfare of the people, the YSRCP drowned the state in debt,” he said.
He said there was a huge population of young talent in Andhra Pradesh, whose mettle had been recognised worldwide. “But under the YSRCP regime, it is just a dream, as the government had done zero in development, but promoted 100% corruption. “The projects sanctioned by the central government have been delayed multiple times, only further derailing the welfare of the people,” he said, and assured that with the double engine government of the NDA, all projects which had been left incomplete, shall be completed.
Modi further asked people to be wary of the Congress. He said the country under its (Congress) regime 10 years ago was associated with scams. “The Congress and INDIA bloc leaders often fume at the Enforcement Directorate (ED). You know why? In Jharkhand, mountains of currency bundles have been recovered from the servant of the personal secretary of one of the Congress leaders,” he pointed out.
He said the Congress had turned the homes of servants into an abode of black money so much that even cash counting machines got tired of counting the notes. All those who were caught with unaccounted for cash were close to the first family of Congress, he alleged. “When Modi holds them accountable for their crimes, they hurl abuses at him. But Modi doesn’t care about these bad words, he only cares about the poor,” he said.
The PM said as of now, the ED had caught hold of only ₹1.15 lakh crore worth property but it would be much more and he was consulting experts to unearth them. “Modi has already returned ₹17 lakh crore which was stolen from the poor in the past. No poor individual shall be left cheated. That is Modi’s guarantee,” he said.
Modi alleged that in Andhra Pradesh, too, the YSRCP was running in full speed towards corruption. “These people came into power making false promises of a ban on liquor and the same people in the government are today actively involved in the liquor business. Andhra Pradesh today finds itself in the middle of a very big alcohol syndicate and the state is being governed by the sand and liquor mafia,” he said.
Taking a dig at Jagan’s ambitious plan of creating three capitals for the state, Modi said in the last five years, they couldn’t come up even with one capital. “The idea of three capitals was only to mask their plans of big corruption. The YSRCP government is only capable of managing corruption, not a state’s finances,” he said.
He found fault with the YSRCP government for neglecting the Polavaram project, the lifeline of the state, though the Centre had allotted ₹15,000 crore for the same. The farmers are suffering due to lack of proper irrigation and are not getting remunerative prices for their agriculture produce, he said.
Modi explained how the Centre had launched various initiatives to develop Andhra like Amaravati-Vijayawada road project, Visakhapatnam-Chennai industrial corridor, expansion of Rajahmundry airport and a south coast railway zone Visakhapatnam, among others.
Reacting to Modi’s speech, the YSRCP raised five points and demanded that the NDA allies in Andhra Pradesh should ask Modi to clarify whether they would be fulfilled if the NDA comes to power in the state.
YSRCP leader and Vishakapatnam MP candidate Botsa Jhansi sought to know whether Modi would guarantee that the NDA alliance would not remove the 4% reservation for Muslims under the OBC quota. “Will Modi also give an assurance that the NDA will not privatise the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant?” she asked.
It also wanted the PM to give an assurance that the NDA would not implement the CAA and NRC in their current form and Muslims will be included in them. “Will Modi grant special category status to Andhra Pradesh and will the NDA government in the state will repeal the Land Titling Act in the state, by directly disregarding the Centre’s guidelines that led to formation of this Act,” the YSRCP leader asked.
Congress is anti-Ram, says Nadda
Meanwhile, addressing an election rally at Peddapalli in Telangana, BJP national president JP Nadda alleged that the Congress had joined hands with “anti-national forces” and was opposing “Sanatana Dharma” and Lord Ram.
He pointed out that Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had remained silent when Udayanidhi Stalin, leader of their alliance partner DMK, compared Sanatana Dharma with HIV, dengue and malaria. “The Congress leaders did not even attend the ceremony of consecration of Ram temple at Ayodhya,” he said.
Taking a dig at “ABC” – Asaduddin Owaisi of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Congress, Nadda alleged that they were following the agenda of Muslim League. “AIMIM, BRS and Congress are the ABC of appeasement in Telangana. They function on the agenda of the Muslim League and support the ideologies of Tablighi Jamaat and Razakars,” he said.
Reacting to Rahul Gandhi’s allegations that the BJP if voted to power again, would end reservations, Nadda said it was like a thief pulling up a policeman. “It was the Congress who robbed Dalits, Adivasis and OBCs of their reservations and gave them to Muslims,” he said.
Nadda pointed out that the PM had openly dared the Congress to give it in writing that it would never meddle with SC, ST, OBC reservations, but the grand old party did not accept the challenge. “For their political benefit, they are conspiring to take the country towards a new division,” he added.
There was no immediate reaction from the AIMIM, BRS or Congress.
