Launching a scathing attack on TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu, former Minister Perni Venkata Ramaiah (Nani) said that the former was playing havoc with the lives of people by mobilising them in large numbers for his publicity craze.

Addressing the media here on Monday, he said that the TDP resorted to cheap politics of distributing gifts to the poor in the name of ‘Sankranthi Kanuka’ and claimed the lives of three people, besides causing injuries to others at Guntur on Sunday. He alleged that the TDP leaders who carried out publicity in their friendly media and took permission from the police for organising a public meeting with 10,000 people had taken U-turn after the tragedy.

The TDP leaders also announced that Naidu has no connection with the tragedy and started blaming Vuyyuru Foundation. Why did the TDP leaders’ resort to cheap politics and issue 30,000 coupons to the people when they have taken permission from the police for organising a public meeting with 10,000 people. This itself shows Naidu’s self-promotion mission activity playing havoc with the lives of the people by distributing free gifts and resorting to cheap politics in the name of voluntary organisations, he said.

The former minister also advised the NRI’s not to fall into prey of Naidu’s self-promotion mission.

Reacting on the ongoing Kapu reservations issue and Hari Rama Jogaiah’s fast, the former minister maintained that the veteran leader is restoring to match fixing politics with Naidu and Pawan Kalyan. Why didn’t Jogaiah take up the Kapu reservations issue while he was in active politics and call off his fast after interacting with Jana Sena Chief, he questioned.

The mutual allegations were continuing between the YSRCP and the TDP on the 2-year achievements of Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy’s regime. Minister Perni Nani has launched a scathing attack on the TDP leaders, saying that Chandrababu Naidu and Nara Lokesh are making all sorts of baseless comments. They are not able to digest the fact that CM Jagan has come closer to the hearts of the public with his heavy dose of welfare.

The Minister has asserted that the Jagan regime has distributed welfare benefits of over Rs. 1.31 lakh Cr. This is what has created heartburn among Chandrababu and Lokesh. It is because of this jealousy and narrow mindedness that the people had taught a bitter lesson to Naidu in the 2019 elections.

Perni Nani referred to the irrigation projects and accused the TDP leaders of looting over Rs. 68,000 Cr in the name of projects during their regime. Chandrababu and his party leaders were only worried about the growing popularity of CM Jagan with each welfare programme being implemented under his leadership.

The Minister has recalled how their Chief Minister is continuing to pass on the welfare benefits to the poor people despite the financial problems arising out of the Covid pandemic.

The Krishna District Court has sent construction worker Nageswara Rao to 14-days judicial remand in the case relating to the murder attempt on Minister Perni Nani. The accused has been sent to the Covid sub jail in Machilipatnam. The murder attempt took place just a day ahead of the Assembly session.

Different versions were coming out. The mason was stated to be a relative of a TDP leader in the town. It was also stated that he was in a drunken condition at the time of the incident. However, the worker could not come nearer to the Minister and he was caught by the Minister’s followers immediately.

Initial reports said that the mason has been out of work for a long time now which was one reason for his frustration and eventual attack. But the masonry tool he was stated to have used does not look like a potential weapon that would be enough to carry out a murderous attack.

The TDP has questioned the same, saying that the mason attack on Minister Perni was just similar to the Kodi Kathi attack on CM Jagan Reddy. Both would remain unresolved mysteries.

In the most sensational statement undermining the judiciary and casting aspersions on the courts, transport minister Perni Venkataramaiah on Saturday alleged that some people who worked for the TDP are now in the judiciary to work for the benefit of TDP president and former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu.

“People who worked actively in a political party for decades as foot soldiers are in the judiciary today, working for the benefit of Chandrababu,” Venkataramaiah. commented. His comments come in the wake of the Andhra Pradesh High Court passing gag orders on the media and stalling an investigation into an alleged real estate scandal in Amaravati during the TDP regime.

In the past, YSRCP MP Nandigama Suresh accused Naidu of managing the High Court. He alleged that Naidu was privy to court verdicts prior to 30 minutes or 10 minutes of its pronouncements.

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has initiated contempt proceedings against YSRCP MP Nandigram Suresh and 48 others for intimidating judges of the Supreme Court and the High Court, besides using abusive language against them. Amanchi Krishna Mohan, another YSRCP leader, had found fault with the High Court directive to the CBI to probe the police highhandedness against Dr Sudhakar Rao. The court had sent contempt notices to both the leaders for their comments lowering the dignity of the court.

As the number of positive corona cases crossed the 300-mark and four deaths reported in Andhra Pradesh, the state government has started identifying hotspots where it will undertake rapid antibody testing of suspected coronavirus patients, transport, I&PR minister Perni Nani said on Tuesday.

Andhra Pradesh so far reported 304 cases of corona, 290 of them had attended Tablighi Jamaat religious congregation in South Delhi’s Nizamuddin and returned to the state. Addressing a press conference, Nani said a total of 1,043 people from AP had attended the Jamaat congregation, of these 196 were tested positive and undergoing treatment in various government hospitals. The state government had identified and traced 22,620 foreign returnees and were placed under the 14-day mandatory home quarantine. Further, he said four hospitals were set up in the state, an exclusive hospital to treat corona patients is being established in Bellamkonda.

TPD president and former chier minister N Chandrababu Naidu in a recent press meet in Hyderabad accused the government of hiding facts while stating that AP has registered 1,021 per cent rise in the number of corona cases as against India’s average of 222 per cent in the last one week. He said the government should step up testing in order to identify and isolate corona positive cases for prevention of its transmission.

Addressing media here, Nani said, “The state is much ahead compared to other states in testing and containing coronavirus in Andhra Pradesh. Our volunteer system has tracked more than 20,000 foreign returnees. They are home quarantined.”

Coming down heavily on Naidu for accusing the government of not being transparent and for not providing adequate medical equipment to medical staff, Perni Nani said that there is enough stockpiled medical equipment like masks, gowns and gloves to fulfill the anticipated need of state’s health care system as it deals with the coronavirus. “We have been transparent. Some people who sit in Hyderabad should know that the state is well equipped to deal with the corona crisis. He should stop politicizing. This is a false propaganda from a man from another state. He is making irresponsible statements,” he said referring to Naidu.

In terms of supplies, the minister said this is an unprecedented challenge and the state government is working on to increase the supplies of personal protective equipment and ventilators. “We have tremendous supplies, we have adequate number of N95 masks, Personal Protective Equipment, gowns, masks, but we want to acquire more,” he said. Reacting sharply to a video of a Narsipatnam doctor who accused that the AP government lacks adequate medical gear to fight corona virus, he said the doctor spoke like a politician and not as a medical practitioner. “The hospital in Narsipatnam that the so called doctor was talking about has 20 PPEs and 32N95 masks. The hospital is not even a Covid center. Is he a doctor or a politician to talk this way,” Perni Nani questioned. Currently, 12,000 Personal Protective Equipment is available, and the government has placed an order for 20,000 more PPEs.

The health minister said the state government had set up three more laboratories in Vizag, Kadapa and Guntur for testing suspected novel coronavirus cases. With the three new labs, Nani said the state currently has seven labs which a capacity to test 1,270 samples in each of the labs. Additionally, the state government will convert the more than 240 TB testing labs into covid-19 testing labs.