Hyderabad, July 10: Telugu Desam president and leader of the opposition N Chandrababu Naidu has sharply reacted on Kadapa MP YS Jaganmohan Reddy ‘Odarppu Yatra’, describing it as one being stage-managed to project him as a leader of the masses.
Speaking to reporters in his chambers in the Assembly here today, Naidu said YSR’s son was spending huge amounts of money for his Yatra and he should explain to the people of the state where the money came from. “Jagan Mohan Reddy is planning to distribute Rs 7 crore to 700 families who lost their lives after the sudden demise of YS Rajasekhar Reddy. He should reveal the source of the funds.’’ By spending the money Jagan followers were mobilising people for the yatra but were trying to create an impression that the participation of the people was voluntary, he said and wanted to know how Jagan Mohan Reddy had become the owner of a newspaper in just six years. He should announce his assets and liabilities to the people, Naidu demanded.
The Jagan yatra was purely an internal affair of the Congress and the TDP was in no way concerned with it but it exposed the true culture of the Congress and the obsession of Jagan Mohan Reddy to become chief minister, Naidu said and recalled how the Congress had changed three chief ministers in the state between 1989 and 1994.
To a question, the TDP chief said that his party had not become a “spectator’’ in the state politics but was fighting against the central and state governments on people’s issues. “ The chief minister depends on his party high command and AICC president Sonia Gandhi, but for the TDP people are the high command. The chief minister is ready to offer his post to me for one week. It is nothing a but a joke since the offer has come from a person who was not elected as an MLA.’’ Asserting that it did not matter for the Telugu Desam who was in the chief minister’s post, Naidu said its duty was to fight against the government to ensure justice to people. “Even when during the days of YS Rajasekhara Reddy, we fought on issues concerning people,’’ he claimed.
“Though the Congress had initiated economic reforms, the benefits have not reached the people because it had been steeped in corruption during the last six years,’’ the TDP leader alleged and said he was ready to prove the failures of the government.
He described the state government as ‘sannasi prabhutvam’ for not providing the minimum support price (MSP) for the popular ‘Nellore rice’. Expressing connern at the deteriorating law and order situation, he said, “Two days ago an American woman had been raped. This would create an adverse impression on investors.’’ The TDP leader was non-committal on campaigning during the byelections in Telangana and said that he would announce his tour schedule at an appropriate time.
–Agencies–