The Jagan Mohan Reddy Government is doing great injustice to the downtrodden sections of society by diverting the Central funds released for the welfare and development of these sections, said former minister for Finance and TDP politburo member, Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, on Tuesday.

Ramakrishnudu said that the Central funds are being diverted by the State Government for corruption and wasteful expenditure thus doing injustice to the underprivileged sections of society. The State had to suffer a loss of thousands of crores in the past four years as the ruling dispensation has not released the matching grant for over 94 Centrally sponsored schemes affecting the development of the downtrodden sections, he said.

Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy, has been continuing his maladministration with his sole agenda of diverting the Central funds for farming to health sector and industry to irrigation sectors, Ramakrishnudu said. In four years, a whopping Rs 71,449 cr has been diverted within minutes of releasing these funds by the Centre thus resorting to large scale corruption and irregularities, he stated.

Except for selling government assets, imposing heavy financial burden on the people and raising loans at a heavy interest rate, Jagan is continuing his rule with no mention of development and welfare, the TDP politburo member observed. The people are falling victim to the conspiracies of Jagan who is keeping as a secret that several schemes for education and health sectors besides pensions are being implemented with the Central funds, he said.

The Centre has withheld release of Rs 6,000 cr as the Jagan Government did not mend its ways despite the Centre sending a letter raising objections to the inclusion of Jagan and YSR names in front of every government scheme, Yanamala said and felt that Jagan should take the responsibility for this. The Jagan Reddy Government is spending huge amounts of public funds for personal campaigning, he stated.

Observing that Jagan is squarely responsible for withholding of Rs 4,000 cr capital expenditure, Ramakrishnudu pointed out that the Chief Minister has diverted Rs 3,084 cr sanctioned by the Centre for building houses for the poor. On the one side the promise of building five lakh housing units per year has not been fulfilled and on the other the State Government is diverting the funds being released by the Centre for houses construction, he said.

Is it not a fact that the drought relief of Rs 900 cr released by the Centre is not distributed to the farmers, the former Finance minister asked. The Rs 8.60 cr funds allocated by the 14th and 15th Finance Commission for the development of the panchayats has been embezzled by misusing the digital key of the sarpanches, Ramakrsihnudu said in the press note.

Are the YSRCP seniors not aware that diverting the funds from panchayat accounts is illegal, the TDP politburo member asked and felt that all the panchayats got totally unnerved with the actions of the State Government. They reduced the condition of the panchayats wherein they are unable to pay even the drinking water and sanitation bills, he regretted.

The rural areas are no exception as the funds being released by the Centre for the villages development under the Employment Guarantee Scheme are also diverted thus doing great injustice to rural areas too, he felt. This has resulted in lakhs of people from different villages migrating to various places in the past four years as Rs 7,879 cr Central funds have been diverted, Ramakrishnudu noted.

Removing disparities in society is on top of the combined mini-manifesto of the TDP and the Jana Sena, said former minister and TDP politburo member, Yanamala Ramakrsihnudu, on Monday.

Briefing media persons after the combined meeting of the manifesto committees of both the TDP and the Jana Sena, Ramakrsihnudu said that Monday’s meeting is only a preliminary one. Pointing out that the TDP has already released its mini-manifesto in the name of ‘Babu Surety-Bhavishyathuku Guarantee’ (Babu surety is guarantee for the future), the TDP politburo member said that the TDP is already on the campaign on Super Six in this manifesto.

Making it clear that the TDP and the Jana Sena alliance has been finalised, Ramakrishnudu said that the TDP and the Jana Sena proposed six points each to be included into the manifesto. “Combining both we have prepared the mini-manifesto and it will be sent for the approval of the committee,” he added.

Expressing confidence that all these points will be useful for the people, Ramakrsishunudu made it clear that the main aim of both the parties is removal of disparities in society, financial system should be improved, better welfare for farmers and people in all walks of life should become stronger. This is the reason Rs 15,000 financial assistance for each child under Talliki Vandanam per annum has been proposed, each girl who attained 18 years of age will get Rs 1500 per month under Aada Bidda Nidhi and three free cylinders for every family per year under Deepam scheme besides free bus travel facility for women, he explained.

Also, 20 lakh youth will be provided employment opportunities under Yuva Galam, Rs 3,000 to be paid per month as unemployment allowance for every jobless youth till he or she gets employment, Yanamala said. The proposals made by the Jana Sena like 20 per cent subsidy to small and medium industries besides Ankura industries amounting to Rs 10 lakh maximum, has been accepted and included in the manifesto.

Farmers and tenant farmers will get Rs 20,000 financial assistance every year and aqua farming, horticulture will be encouraged through extending subsidies, Ramakrsihnudu said. Each house will be provided safe drinking water connection under Intintiki Manchi Neeru scheme and a legislation will be enacted for the safety and security of Backward Classes (BCs), he said.

Keeping in view the welfare of the common man, taxes on all commodities, including power, will be brought down and basic amenities will be provided, Yanamala said, adding that steps will be taken to improve the State’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Through the Poor-to-Rich scheme the P4 (public, private, people partnership) will be implemented to make the poor rich with the aim of achieving at least double income in five years.

Declaring Amaravathi as the capital, all the regions in the State will be developed while continuing the construction of the people’s capital of Amaravathi, the former minister for Finance noted. The manifesto aims at realising the dream of the poor to own a house and also coming to the rescue of the construction industry besides revising the minimum wages for the welfare of the workers, he added.

The Monday’s meeting resolved to check migrations, Yanamala said and felt that inclusive growth is necessary now. He felt an immediate need to remove the imbalances as poverty and disparities are on the rise.

Jana Sena member of the committee, Mutha Sasidhar, said that the meeting is conducted under a friendly atmosphere. When Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy, has been claiming ‘why not 175’, the people are making fun of him and are now repenting as to why they have given 151 seats for him in the last elections, he said.

Jagan is taking the people for a ride by saying that all the promises made to them have been fulfilled, Sasidhar said, adding that the Jana Sena made six proposals which have been made on the appeals received when Jana Sena chief, Pawan Kalyan, has taken part in various programmes in the State.

The Jana Sena resolved that Amaravathi will continue to be the capital of the State, he said and stated that providing employment to the construction workers, transforming the jobless youth as industrialists through Sowbhagya Padham scheme, improving the financial condition of the farmers and tenant farmers by encouraging farming, ‘Our Andhra Pradesh-Our Jobs’ have been suggested by the Jana Sena which are included in the manifesto.

Regretting that all sections of youth are now the suffered in the YSRCP rule as there are no employment opportunities, Sasidhar said that all the issues that are finalised on Monday will be sent to Pawan Kalyan and the chairman of Political Affairs Committee of the party, Nadendla Manohar.

“We are going to promise the youth a much better future for them and the main manifesto will be formulated keeping in view the welfare of all sections of society,” Sasidhar observed. Besides Ramakrishnudu, P Ashok Babu and Kommareddy Pattabhiram participated in the meeting on behalf of the TDP while D Vara Prasad, Prof K Sarath Kumar and Mutha Sasidhar were present for the Jana Sena.

The style of functioning of the ruling party clearly indicates threat to the life of former chief minister and TDP supremo, Nara Chandrababu Naidu, inside the Rajamahendravaram Central Jail, observed TDP politburo member and Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, on Friday.

Pointing out that Chandrababu has personally written a letter to the ACB court judge that there is no safety for him inside the Rajamahendravaram Central Jail, Ramakrishnudu told media persons at the party headquarters. He said that the judge should immediately examine whether the State Government has made necessary security arrangements for Chandrababu inside the jail. Ramakrinudu asked as to why the State Government has till now not ordered any kind of inquiry into the incidents in which drones moved around the jail.

“It is better to say that Chandrababu is under the custody of the State Government than inside the jail,” the TDP politburo member felt. Stating that advisor to the Government, Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, has been supervising all the issues ever since Chandrababu has been sent to jail, the Leader of the Opposition in the Upper House said that Ramakrishna Reddy has been issuing all kinds of directions to the jail officials, doctors and others.

Ramakrishnudu asked as to why the doctors are not making the health condition of Chandrababu public daily after conducting medical tests. He expressed surprise that the original reports submitted by the doctors are not being released to the media but the reports certified by the jailer are being produced.

The TDP politburo member is of the strong opinion that the Skill Development project case is a totally false one and sending Naidu illegally to jail in this case is nothing but a political vendetta. People have already realised this fact, he added.

Knowing pretty well that Chandrababu did not commit any kind of crime in the Skill Development case, he has been sent to jail only to seriously damage his health and to prevent him from reaching the people, Yanamala felt. As the Government has till now not taken any measures on the safety and security of Chandrababu and this clearly reflects the fact that the State Government is directly targeting him, he stated.

The main target of Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy, is to face the next elections without any Opposition party, like how it has happened in Cambodia earlier, he remarked. For reasons best known, Jagan Mohan Reddy could not digest the massive public response to Naidu, he maintained. “How a person, who killed his own paternal uncle for the sake of power, can care for the Opposition parties and the senior leaders,” Ramakrishnudu remarked.

Those who have earlier claimed thousands of crores of scam in the Skill Development project and Chandrababu is directly involved in it are now projecting the membership subscription amount of the TDP activists as the money involved in this scam, Yanamala noted. The industrial sector which was totally dependent on human intelligence is now banking on artificial intelligence and the Skill Development Corporation was set up keeping in view this issue, he stated.

Ramakrishnudu demanded that enough security be provided to Naidu at the earliest possible time and said that quality medical facilities be arranged for him.

Former Finance minister and TDP politburo member, Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, on Saturday asked Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy, to answer as to how progress in farming is possible when the yield is so low.

In a video released to the media, Ramakrishnudu expressed surprise how Jagan Mohan Reddy can claim when he was releasing Rythu Bharosa that the yield of food grains has gone up by 12 lakh tonnes this year. ”It is nothing but cheating the people,” Yanamala felt and stated that the fact is that food grains yield this year has fallen drastically.

He asked why Mr Jagan resorted to issuing such false statements. Farming sector in the past four years has been in doldrums and has been running in total loss, Ramakrishnudu stated.

Farmers are not getting a minimum support price for any product, the former Finance minister said, adding that crop holidays have been declared both for Kharif and Rabi. Hence, it appears that Jagan Mohan Reddy has issued the statement only to win the confidence of farmers, Yanamala felt.

Observing that the TDP strongly condemns the statement of Jagan, he said that productivity is moving in the reverse direction. It is now clear that Jagan is not giving the facts with regard to the farming sector, Yanamala noted.

Stating that even the input subsidy is not being paid for the farmers who suffered losses in agriculture, the TDP politburo member said that the farm products are being looted by millers and the officials. The farmer is in deep trouble, he said, adding that this is clearly visible in rural areas.

Giving the details of the farm products in the past four years, Ramakrishnudu stated that these are the statistics revealed in the socio-economic survey. At least 73 per cent of the population in the State has no revenue since agro economy is seriously hit and the farmers are facing serious problems, Ramakrishnudu observed. The facts clearly reflect that Jagan is giving false information, he added.

Former finance minister and TDP leader, Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, on Monday expressed surprise as to why either the Centre or the RBI were not taking it seriously when the State’s total debt burden has crossed a whooping Rs 12.50 lakh cr.

“The State has totally collapsed after Jagan Mohan Reddy has become the Chief Minister and the people have never witnessed such a dire situation,” Ramakrishnudu told media persons. Still, why is either the Centre or the RBI not taking the situation seriously, the former Finance minister asked.

Observing that the YSRCP Government not only created problems for the people of the State but also crippled the whole economy, Yanamala felt that Jagan has the credit of pushing the economy to the lowest level. Expressing serious concern that every individual carries Rs 5.5 lakh debt on his or her head now, he said that by March 2024, the outstanding debts will go up much further.

Despite all this, the RBI is according permissions to the State to borrow more funds and the people in the coming days will be facing a massive burden of Rs 15,000 cr in the shape of revision of RTC and power charges and to meet the daily needs, Ramakrishnudu maintained.

Though the State Government has been claiming that thousands of crores are being spent for welfare schemes, the report of the CAG says that the funds are not reaching completely to the beneficiaries, he pointed out.

By that time the YSRCP Government completes its five-year term, the funds spent on the welfare schemes alone reachesn Rs 2.70 lakh cr, he said adding that the financial imbalances are increasing by the day. The CAG has clearly mentioned in its report that Rs 48,000 cr has been misused in the 2019-20 fiscal while there are no accounts for Rs one lakh cr in the financial year of 2020-21, he stated.

The CAG also mentioned in its report for 2021-22 that accounts for 1,18,000 cr have not been shown, Yanamala said and asked what the State Government is doing with these funds without giving the details of the accounts. This clearly indicates that these funds worth lakhs of crores are being diverted, the former Finance minister said and expressed concern that in the coming days the interest on these loans itself will be in lakhs of crores per annum.

How development of the State is possible when the borrowed funds are diverted, asked former Finance minister and TDP politburo member, Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, here on Friday.

Talking to media persons at the party headquarters, Ramakrishnudu felt that there is absolutely no comparison between the budgetary allocations and the actual expenditure at the ground-level. The former Finance minister made it clear that the State stood in 19th position in the country in the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme which the Jagan Mohan Reddy Government boasts of.

Making it clear that there is nothing great in the 2023-24 budgetary proposals, Yanalama felt that even in the last fiscal too the State Government has not given any priority for welfare and development. Terming Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy, as a king worse than Nero, the TDP politburo member predicts that the State’s debt burden will cross Rs 11 lakh cr by that time the YSRCP Government is out.

“Ultimately, the people have to bear this debt burden and the interest to be paid. The budgetary proposals clearly indicate that the Jagan Government did not give any preference for development and welfare even in its last year of tenure,” Ramakriashnu observed.

He opined that the physical infrastructure in the State is hit badly as the State Government is projecting high allocation of budgetary estimates while in reality the expenditure is very limited. The academic and health sectors were totally destroyed during the YSRCP rule and the hospitals are not extending medical services to the poor as the bills are not being paid, he stated.

Since all the revenue generation sectors are badly affected and the investors are not willing to set up their units in the State, unemployment has gone up heavily, Yanamala felt. The State Government policies are the main reason for the farming, industrial and service sectors being affected very badly, the former Finance minister maintained.

“Compared to the TDP regime, the percentage of the manufacturing sector now is -4.5 while the percentage of the construction sector is -2.6,” he said, adding that the industrial and service sectors too are hot very badly after the YSRCP came to power.

Yanamala expressed surprise how new companies can start their units in the State when incentives are not being given to the existing companies.

Replying to media persons, Ramakrishnudu said that the results of the Legislative Council polls proved that Mr Jagan has done injustice to the State. “Jagan is totally dependent on money, politics and muscle power. The latest election results proved beyond doubt that these two will not work out,” Ramakrishnudu remarked.

TDP politburo member and leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, on Wednesday said that the Jagan Mohan Reddy Government does not have any respect for systems in the State.

Ramakrishnudu said that the State Government does not have respect even for Parliamentary system or even on the Constitution. Observing that the three capitals bill is totally against the Constitutional provisions, the Leader of Opposition in the Upper House said that the Cabinet Ministers give totally contradictory statements on the capital.

“One Minister says that Visakhapatnam is the capital while another Minister claims that the three capitals issue still in existence,” Yanamala remarked. The State Government is repeatedly committing blunders to cover up one mistake and the Ministers are behaving most irresponsibly, he observed.

Stating that the gap in the revenue and fiscal deficit have widened, the former Finance minister felt that the remarks made by officials that they faced fiscal problems in 2014 too are really surprising.

Ramakrishnudu asked as to why the State Government is silent though the TDP asked two to three times to come for an open debate on the State’s financial position. Can the State Government give a proper reply as to why more loans have been raised than presented in the budgetary estimates, Yanamala questioned the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).

Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council and TDP politburo member, Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, on Thursday made fun of the statements made by Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy, on corruption.

In an open letter to the public, Ramakrishnudu said that Jagan Mohan Reddy talking against corruption is like a vulture taking oath on non-vegetarian. “It is the biggest joke of the century that Jagan, who is on the top of the list of corrupt persons and who was in jail for 16 months whose name figured in 24 CBI and ED charge-sheets, asked his party leaders not to indulge in corruption,” Yanamala said.

Does this mean that the Chief Minister officially allowed his party leaders to mint money in the past 42 months, he asked and wanted Jagan to clarify on this. For the past three-and-half years, Jagan and his associates looted the State in sand, land, wine, mining and natural resources. “This kind of the Chief Minister is now alerting his party cadre not to indulge in corruption is totally ridiculous,” Ramakrishnudu added.

In his rule, Jagan turned Andhra Pradesh as the most corrupt-State and damaged the prestige of the State, he said and stated that now he started blackmailing his own Ministers, MPs and MLAs. The statement made by the Chief Minister a couple of days back that he will not tolerate corruption any longer clearly indicates that till now he officially allowed them to mint money, Yanamala observed.

The State occupied third position in the country for illegal mining and the sand, beach sand and bauxite mining in agency areas for the past three years is a classic example of this, he stated. The less said the better about the liquor mafia, he said and stated that Jagan and his associates made a whopping Rs 30,000 cr in liquor business and the Tadepalli Palace is filled with the money made out of land mafia.

In the name of making Visakhapatnam as capital, both Jagan and YSRCP MP, Vijayasai Reddy, illegally occupied lands worth over Rs 40,000 cr, Ramakrishnudu said. Even in the sale of properties belonging to the Visakha Steel, they minted huge money, he added.

Former Finance minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) politburo member, Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, on Tuesday said that the industrial sector, which is crucial for the development of the State, has been touching the rock bottom level in Andhra Pradesh for the past three-and-half years.

In an open letter to Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, the former minister said that the State is caught in a deep financial crisis with reverse growth, large-scale unemployment and no investments. When the industrial and service sectors witnessed tremendous growth during the TDP regime, they are now moving in reverse trend, he said.

At least investments worth over Rs 17 lakh cr moved out of the state, including the Kia affiliated units to Chennai and Hyderabad, Ramakrishnudu pointed out. Industrialists like Luloo, Franklin Templeton and others cancelled their agreements with the State Government while the Asian Pulp Paper Industry, which is likely to set up its unit in Prakasam district, withdrew investments, the TDP politburo member stated.

Asking what is the fate of the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor, Ramakrishnudu said that the future of the YSR Jagananna Mega Industrial Hub is also in dilemma. These are only some examples wherein the investors have gone back and the State Government has taken back the lands allocated to these industrialists. The result of this is there is no employment generation and also the youth lost their job opportunities, he said.

Though a special team represented the State at the Davos conference there are no investments attracted from any industry, Ramakrishnudu said adding that there is no encouragement for the investors from the Backward Classes (BCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). “When the TDP was in power, we tried our best to identify the economic growth engines and focussed on them following which the GSDP has gone up. But now it is moving in the reverse direction,” the former Finance minister said.

The average growth index was in double digit when Chandrababu Naidu was the chief minister but in the past three-and-half years it has been confined to single digit, he pointed out. The State has fallen to the 13th position in attracting foreign investments, Ramakrishnudu said, adding that this clearly shows the commitment of the ruling party towards the overall growth of the State.

The situation is so bad now that the people of the State can not even say which is their capital, Ramakrishnudu said and asked who will come forward to invest in such a State. He advised Jagan to examine all these issues and take some corrective measures to help the State move forward.