Chandrababu Rule Resembles British Reign: YS Jagan

Leader of Opposition in Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly and YSR Congress Party President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy addressed thousands of people in a public meeting organized at Kotavuratla constituency in Visakhapatnam district. YS Jagan was welcomed with thunderous rounds of applause and slogans of 'Jai Jagan' from people and party workers.

Thanking the crowd for their support, YS Jagan said that in Kotavuratla constituency, after Chandrababu became CM, a majority of the co-operative sugar factories ran into losses and got closed, whereas during late Chief Minister Dr YS Rajashekhar Reddy's regime, the factories were into profits. While the Tandava sugar factory is already running with Rs 40 crore loss, the factories in Etikoppaka and Cholavaram are running in hundreds of crores of losses, he added.

"Three factories in Vizianagaram, Kakinada and Vizag were closed down. The Etikoppaka factory, which clocked an average profit of Rs 5 crore during Rajanna Rajyam, is running in deep losses and its workers are not being paid salaries for the past several months. Dr YSR provided subsidies of Rs 300 to Rs 750 per ton of sugar, with an intention to support the co-operative factories. The farmers of sugarcane crop are getting just Rs 2,400 per ton, while, in Uttar Pradesh, the sugarcane farmers are provided with a support price of Rs 3,110," he observed.

In 2014, Chandrababu promised to provide compensation to the farmers in Nakkapally Mandal, where the land acquisition for 600 acres was carried out. However, the State government has stranded more than half of the farmers by not paying the minimum compensation amount, YS Jagan said. The Telugu Desam Party government notified the lands of the already distressed farmers, he added. The farmers were promised Pattas for their lands by the TDP leaders, who had collected Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh from the farmers, but not even a single Patta has been provided, he said.

The Leader of Opposition said that the locals complained to him about the pathetic state of the drinking water project on the Varaha and Tandava rivers. Under the pretext of Neeru-Chettu program, the TDP leaders emptied all the sand and mud in the rivers across the State, the people's leader observed. Adding that the Neeru-Chettu program was a symbol of Chandrababu's corruption, the YSRCP Chief asserted that the local TDP leaders were making crores of rupees by collecting commissions from thousands of sand trucks in Kailasaptnam, Kotivada, Ramachandrapuram, Penugolu, Darlapudi and other villages.

The TDP leaders exploited all resources like sand, cement, alcohol, electricity and coal, he said. They did not even spare temple lands and ornaments inside the temples, he added. The responsibility of collecting bribes is given to the local MLA, who would generally keep one-third share and send the remaining revenues to IT Minister Nara Lokesh through the district collectors, he said.

In Kotavuratla constituency, more than 150 villages are struggling with drinking water problems, YS Jagan observed. The water grid project inaugurated before 2014 saw no progress in Chandrababu's rule, he said. During Rajanna Rajyam, more than 86,000 houses have been constructed for the welfare of the poorer sections in this constituency, he asserted.

YS Jagan reminded Chandrababu's poll promises of setting up of a degree college in this constituency, developing the Nakkapally Gurukul School into a mini-university, developing the 30-bed hospital into a 50-bed one, model school for the children of fishermen among many others to the local public. He asked them whether any of the promises were fulfilled. Describing the sorry state of the 108 Ambulance services under TDP rule, YS Jagan said that medical supplies in the Payakaraopet PHC were not being provided since the past two months.

During Congress President Rahul Gandhi's recent visit to Telangana, Chandrababu sent a delegation of his family members to Rahul's hotel in Hyderabad, YS Jagan informed. After ending romance with the BJP, Jana Sena and the CPI, Chandrababu is looking to befriend the Congress party, he added.

The YSRCP Chief likened Chandrababu's rule to the British rule by saying that the two regimes had caste disputes, robbery of State properties, booking people under cases, violence on citizens and the divide and rule principles in common. "Is there any difference between the British rule and the current government?" he questioned.

"Chandrababu is the don of the illegal mining mafia across the State from Palnadu to Prakasham and Kurnool to Vizag. The only thing which increased during Chandrababu's rule was the rising debts on the burdened shoulders of the farmers. In the last four years, the unnecessary spendings made by Chandrababu in the name of Amaravati master plan, Amaravati bonds, commissions, Singapore deal, Temporary Secretariat, Temporary Assembly, Krishna-Godavari Pushkarams, Happy Sundays, Happy Cities, Dharma Porata Deeksha, Polavaram bus, 3-day Vizag Summit and others amounts to not less than Rs 6,000 crores," YS Jagan explained.

"Why did Chandrababu not spend the funds for Polavaram project instead of blaming the Centre?" he questioned.

The YSRCP leader promised that after the party comes to power, the every farmer in the State would receive Rs 12,500 towards financial assistance in the month of May every year. He also pledged to support the Aqua farmers by providing electricity at just Rs 1.50 per unit.

Also Read: Chandrababu Is Directly Involved In Illegal Mining: Botsa