Jagan govt failed on welfare front, chased away investors: Naidu

In his first address after arriving in Andhra Pradesh after nearly two months, N Chandrababu Naidu who held Mahanadu 2020 online came down heavily on the YSRCP governance in the last one year saying the Jagan government had miserably failed on several fronts.

Addressing the party leaders and cadre via the Zoom application, perhaps first ever such meeting held by any political party in the country, Naidu said the Jagan government had rolled back a series of developmental and welfare schemes initiated by the previous TDP government.
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“More than 34 schemes introduced by the TDP government for the welfare of the people were discontinued. In doing so, the YSRCP government has not only crippled the state economy, development and welfare activities, but also adversely affected the state’s investment climate. The decisions taken by the YSRCP government have been most regressive. “Farmers and the poor in the state lost the benefits of welfare schemes introduced by our government as the new Jagan government has rolled back most of them,” he said.

Citing the decisions to reverse key contracts, such as Polavaram irrigation and renewable energy PPAs, as example of steps he called regressive, Naidu pointed out that the YSRCP government had failed to attract single big ticket investments eversince Jagan rode to power. “He successfully chased away the big investors by reversing all the contracts entered into by the TDP government. The government had failed to create employment opportunities because of the unwise decisions taken by the government,” Naidu lashed out. Jagan had promised that his government will address the issue of unemployment, but the YSRCP dispensation had failed to attract any major investments or big investor to Andhra Pradesh despite the state having enormous potential for attracting domestic and foreign investments, Naidu said. “Jagan had scared away big investors with a slew of policy decisions which were driven largely by political vendetta than political wisdom. Adani Group and Reliance Group are withdrawing investment proposal made during the TDP government,” Naidu pointed out.

Further, the TDP president said the ruling YSR Congress was indulging in vendetta politics by reviewing and stalling vital contracts and policies of the earlier dispensation. “Large irrigation projects and Amaravati Greenfield capital city works were stalled, resulting in unwarranted delays in completion of these works and causing losses to the public. This merely reflects the vendetta mindset and short-sightedness of the present government only to settle political scores. This has adversely impacted the state’s larger interests and investment climate,” Naidu said.

“This government is doing nothing for the welfare of the people. The government has closed down the Anna Canteens, which were set up to provide food for just ₹5 to the poor people,” he said. The Jagan government had shut down more than 204 Anna canteens which are run with the help of Akshaya Patra Foundation. The canteens cater to the poor by offering breakfast, lunch and dinner at Rs 5 each everyday round the year. Naidu called for restoring initiatives of the previous regime such as reopening Anna Canteens, Chandranna Bima Yojana

The TDP national president and former chief minister also said several construction projects were stalled due to an artificial sand scarcity allegedly created by the Jagan government. “Construction workers lost their livelihood.
Projects sanctioned during the previous TDP government have been cancelled. The Andhra Pradesh government has put on hold works related to Amaravati capital city project and several irrigation and infrastructure sectors were halted hurting the investor confidence, he said.

The one year rule has severely undermined the democratic institutions and subverted parliamentary democracy by Jagan’s authoritarian rule. Citing the police high-handedness against Dr Sudhakar Rao who was suspended as civil surgeon of Naripatnam government hosptial, Naidu said human rights are being violated with impunity. He said the way senior doctor Sudhakar Rao was dragged on to streets and beaten by the police was a grim pointer to rights violations in Andhra Pradesh. “Dr Sudhakar Rao was suspended for raising voice against the shortage of masks and other medical equipment like PPEs in government hospitals. He was detained by the police under the pretext that he caused nuisance. He was sent to Government Hospital for Mental Health. Is this how the government treats a doctor who was the frontline warrior in the fight against Covid. It is a different matter that the Jagan government mishandled the Corona virus pandemic. Right from the begining, this government has taken the Covid-19 situation too casually. The Chief Minister’s casual approach reflected when he said Corona virus can be treated by popping Paracetamol and spraying bleaching powder. Is this how the government handles the pandemic,” Naidu questioned.

The TDP organises the annual Mahanadu on May 28 to coincide with the birth anniversary of its founding president, N T Rama Rao. As an annual practice, the party pays tribute to its founder and passes resolutions on prevailing issues. Last year, the TDP had skipped organising the meeting due to the General Elections. However, this year, the two-day meet is being organised virtually in view of the coronavirus-triggered lockdown in Andhra Pradesh. More than 14,000 TDP leaders and workers took part in the virtual meeting.