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Telangana CM slams Jagan, Naidu over links to BJP
Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday said the people of Andhra Pradesh needed leaders who could question the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre, not those who would crave for power in the state
Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday said the people of Andhra Pradesh needed leaders who could question the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre, not those who would crave for power in the state.
Addressing a public rally of the Congress at Visakhapatnam in support of workers of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant agitating against its privatisation by the Centre – a first rally to be addressed by a Telangana leader, Revanth Reddy said the ruling parties in Andhra Pradesh had no guts to question the Centre for the injustice meted out to the state in the last 10 years.
He said even after 10 years of the bifurcation, the Polavaram project could not be completed and there was no capital city for Andhra Pradesh, only because the rulers had surrendered to the Centre and mortgaged their self-respect with Delhi.
“Whether it was Chandrababu Naidu in the past or Jagan Mohan Reddy at present, they have lost their ability to question; they are only prostrating before Modi. BJP in Andhra comprises – Babu, Jagan and Pawan Kalyan. They are the strength of Modi in the state. Every vote for any of these parties will ultimately benefit the BJP,” Revanth Reddy said.
He regretted that the ruling YSRCP and the opposition TDP remained helpless when the Narendra Modi government was trying to privatise the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, which was established after a series of protests and the death of 32 people in a police firing. “Though we are now two separate Telugu states, we can still fight together against the injustice meted out to the Telugu people,” he said.
He requested the people of Andhra Pradesh to give at least 25 MLA seats and five MP seats for the Congress, so that they could fight for their cause in the state and at the Centre. “There is no need for the Congress leaders to get disheartened. They can bounce back and come to power. In Telangana, too, the Congress had only five MLAs in the last assembly. Now, our strength went up to 64 and we could capture power,” the Telangana chief minister said.
Andhra Congress president Y S Sharmila said Visakhapatnam Steel Plant reflected the self-respect of the people of Andhra and a sentiment for them. “The plant was profitable till 2014. But later, it was systematically pushed into losses and finally put up for sale,” she said.
Sharmila also criticised her brother and chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy for not putting in any efforts to prevent privatisation of the steel plant. “Instead, he sold away the government lands at Gangavaram port at a throwaway price. They are now doing real estate business there,” she criticised.
