Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy, and his Cabinet colleagues in the past three years have totally changed the meaning of decentralisation of development. What decentralisation means for them is to loot the State, conceal and later run away, which they have been implementing across Andhra Pradesh, said the TDP politburo member, Bonda Umamaheswara Rao on Friday.

Umamaheswara Rao told media persons at the TDP headquarters here that Chandrababu Naidu, during his tenure as the chief minister of the State, strived hard to develop Amaravati but after Jagan Mohan Reddy came to power he totally destroyed the city. When the farmers in the region, who lost their lands, come onto the roads demanding justice, the Ministers are passing the most unpleasant and nasty comments against them, Uma said.

The Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues do not have any understanding what decentralisation means, he felt. If they really are aware what development and decentralisation mean, the TDP is ready for an open debate, he said and asked whether the ruling party leaders can come for the debate.

Though the High Court has already made it clear that any state should have a single capital, this YSRCP Government is resorting to diversionary politics in the name of decentralisation, the TDP politburo member said. The `Nyayasthanam to Devasthanam` (judiciary to temple) pada yatra undertaken by the Amaravati farmers earlier evoked tremendous response and now the Amaravati to Arasavelli pada yatra is getting enormous response, he observed.

In the name of upgrading Visakhapatnam as capital city, the State Government mortgaged the lands there, he said and demanded Jagan Mohan Reddy to come out with facts where he has spent the Rs 40,000 cr raised as loan by mortgaging the lands. The Chief Minister who could not build a single capital should tell the public as to how he will build three capitals, Uma asked. He should explain to the people what are his plans on the capital, the TDP politburo member demanded.

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) politburo member, Bonda Umamaheswara Rao, on Tuesday said that the Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy, for the past three-and-half years has been wasting public money on court cases to pay to the advocates to argue his personal cases.

Talking to media persons at the TDP headquarters here, Umamaheswara Rao said that any State Government engages private advocates and spends public money to argue cases either in the respective High Courts or in the Supreme Court for the interest of its own people like fighting for irrigation projects. But after Jagan has come to power in the State, he is paying crores of rupees public money to the advocates to argue CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) cases pending against him or his family members, he stated. These advocates are engaged even for petty cases paying them huge amount as fee, which is public money, Bonda Uma said.

The TDP politburo member recalled that an NGO challenged the Green Tribunal order on Polavaram project before the Supreme Court and the State Government has engaged the services of the senior advocate, Abhishek Singhvi, and since he could not take up the case, the services of Venkataramaiah, another senior advocate, have been engaged on a war footing basis. Even the apex court has expressed surprise at the style of functioning of the State Government, he said, adding that no other State Government in the country engaged the services of private advocates to argue government cases.

The private advocates appointed by Jagan charged Rs 1 lakh per hour and pointing this out, the Supreme Court too said that notices have to be served on the State seeking explanation for spending so much of public money this way, Uma stated. How many times both the High Court and the Supreme Court had pulled up the State Government, but it has not learnt any lesson till now, he observed.

Bonda Uma demanded that a white paper be published on the number of cases the State Government has won till now by engaging the services of private advocates. Another senior advocate, Mukul Rohatgi, was engaged by paying a whooping Rs 5 cr only to damage Amaravati, he pointed out and asked what the Advocate General, Sriram and Additional Advocate General, Sudhakar, are doing.

The TDP strongly condemns this kind of wastage of public money the State Government, Umamaheswara Rao said and asked as to why no senior advocate has been appointed to argue the State’s rights mentioned in the Reorganisation Act. What happened to the assets that are due from the neighbouring State of Telangana as per the Reorganisation Act and what cases are filed to fight for the rights of the State, he asked.