Hyderabad: YSR Congress Party today took a swipe at Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu over his government setting a target of achieving a 15 per cent growth rate in 2016-17.
The YS Jaganmohan Reddy-led outfit also accused the TDP government of having “scant” respect for women and that “recent incidents show how women are being ill-treated”.
“When the highest growth rate in world has been that of China at 7.4 per cent and the national figure has been pegged at 5.6 per cent, how can Andhra Pradesh achieve or even think of the impossible 15 per cent growth rate?” a release quoted YSRCP MLA R K Roja as saying.
The Andhra Pradesh government had yesterday said that it aims to achieve 15 per cent growth during 2016-17.
The target was set in the meeting the Chief Minister had with the heads and secretaries of all departments at Secretariat here.
“The sum of goods and services produced during the year when compared to the previous year, determines the growth rate. In Andhra Pradesh, farmers are in distress, their loans are not waived and are declared as defaulters. With the financial crisis, agricultural operations were not taken up in half of the cultivable land and floods have damaged crops adding to the misery,” Roja said.
The MLA alleged that most of the industries are left out in Hyderabad city and the production figures would show a downward graph.
“The IT industry is heavily concentrated in Hyderabad and no income could be expected. When it comes to services sector, there is a little or no scope as there is no proper infrastructure,” she said.
Terming the target set by Naidu as “overambitious”, the MLA said, “In such a scenario, how can Chandrababu Naidu achieve or at least set the goal of 15 per cent growth rate?
“Even in booming economies, the rate looks questionable and the TDP president has to tell how much growth rate was achieved during his nine year term (earlier) as Chief Minister,” he said.
In a dig, Roja said the state has rather achieved growth rate higher than the national average in terms of “neglecting and harassing” women, in terms of failing to fulfill poll promises and carrying out welfare schemes.
“The Anganwadi workers were ill-treated, women officers were insulted and the CM has been supporting the perpetrators of the crime and not the victims,” the MLA said.