Andhra CM certifies self as simple man

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy said he is a simple man and state has prospered during his tenure.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy on Tuesday said he is a simple man and state has prospered during his tenure.

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Replying to the debate on the Satyam scandal in the state Assembly today, Reddy targeted opposition leader N Chandrababu Naidu in response to the latter's frontal attack on him in the House on Monday.

"When Bill Clinton, the then President of United States, visited Hyderabad in 2000, you had taken him to Hi-Tech City and made him share dais with the likes of Satyam Computers' Ramalinga Raju. When the then US President George W Bush visited Hyderabad in 2006, I took him to the agriculture university and made women members of self-help groups share the stage with him. That's the difference between your mindset and my mindset," Reddy said.

Though debate essentially remained heated and acrimonious, Reddy, in a lighter vein recalled Chandrababu Naidu's interaction with US presidential candidate John Kerry of Democrats.

"You befriended Kerry and he lost the presidential election. During your last visit to the US, you declared the candidature of Hillary Clinton but she failed even to get nominated for the presidential race," Reddy said.