TDP Politburo member Yanamala Ramakrishnudu here on Wednesday demanded that Congress leaders tender apology to the Backward Classes for stating that their party would allocate 200 seats to BCs, if there were winning candidates.
Ramakrishnudu, in a press release here, stated that the Congress leaders insulted the BCs by indirectly saying that BC candidates could not win elections even though seats were allocated to them. The Congress and YSR Congress parties want the votes of the BCs, but not interested to allocate seats to BCs in the elections. He pointed out that in 2009 and recent by-elections, both parties gave priority to one caste and neglected the BCs.
Stating that deficit rainfall was recorded in 400 mandals in the State, Yanamala stated that it was very unfortunate that the drought situation in the State was not visible to Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar. He expressed displeasure over non-inclusion of Andhra Pradesh in the list of drought affected States. The Congress-led UPA Government has been showing discrimination towards the State, he alleged, adding that the Centre was showing partiality in the release of crop insurance funds and sanction of calamity relief.
The Centre has extended only Rs 2,000 crores of calamity relief in the last eight years as against Rs 50,000 crores sought by the State government. The Union Ministers and MPs from the State were not even opening their mouth on the injustice, he deplored. He also demanded that drought-hit mandals of the State be covered in the Rs 1900-crore package which was announced by the Centre.
Reminding that the Planning Commission has suggested 16 austerity measures, he said that Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy was making rounds to New Delhi even for the purpose of party affairs. It was unfortunate that the public money was being misutilised for personal and private tours, he added. He also demanded that the government release a white paper on the expenditure on Delhi tours of the Chief Minister and the Governor. (NSS)