Hyderabad, June 13: Andhra Pradesh is lucky for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, feels chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. Firmly believing that the PM’s
visit to AP, first to any state after assuming office in 2004, augured well for the party and the country, the chief minister has written to Manmohan Singh urging him to visit Andhra Pradesh first again in his second stint.
“While the state progressed in all sectors on expected lines, the Centre too extended its cooperation liberally to the state in the past five years. This happened because of the importance the prime minister attached to the state, the chief minister feels,” a senior official told TOI.
Rajasekhara Reddy has already written two letters and is likely to meet the PM to make the same request next week.
According to sources, the chief minister wants Manmohan Singh to lay the foundation stone for the prestigious Rs 6000 crore public sector unit of NBPPL near Srikalahasti in Chittoor district.
Recalling how the PM’s first ever state visit immediately after the 2004 polls, laid the path for development, the chief minister requested him to lay the foundation stone for the power equipment manufacturing unit to be set up jointly by the two PSU majors.
The state government won the project after facing stiff competition from states like Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan.
The chief minister also requested the PM to participate in a kisan rally, being planned for his arrival, as the culmination of the farm loan-waiver campaign in the state. The rally will take place at Kadapa while a public interaction with self-help members at Tirupati is also planned.
Apart from these programmes, the chief minister has requested the prime minister to lay the foundation stones for the international airport at Tirupati, and the proposed airport at Kadapa.
The chief minister is expected to meet Singh next week.
–Agencies