Tadepalli (Andhra Pradesh) [India], January 27 (ANI): Former Dharmavaram Member of the Legislative Assembly, Kethireddy Venkatarami Reddy on Tuesday strongly criticised Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, stating that under the pretext of constructing Amaravati as the capital, the NDA-led government has been indulging in unprecedented financial exploitation, inflating project estimates, accumulating massive debt, and diverting public funds in the name of commissions, while virtually no real development is taking place on the ground.

Addressing the media at the YSRCP central office in Tadepalli, Kethireddy said that 'even after nearly a decade since land pooling began, farmers who gave their land in the first phase have still not been allotted their promised returnable plots, yet the government is now pushing for a second phase of land acquisition.'

He said the only visible activities in the capital region are the clearing of bushes and pumping out stagnant water, for which inflated bills are being paid, while claims of rapid construction are being spread through what he called 'fabricated propaganda.'

He questioned why, if Amaravati is truly being developed, the government is openly promoting Visakhapatnam to software companies and investors, and why land is being offered to companies in Visakhapatnam at Rs. 0.99 per acre, while similar incentives are not extended in Amaravati. He said, 'Whenever YSRCP questions the injustice being done to farmers and the financial plunder in the name of the capital, the coalition brands the party as anti-capital, while in reality, YSRCP stands for balanced development of all three regions and comprehensive growth of the State.'

Kethireddy further stated that in the last 20 months alone, the coalition government has raised over Rs 3 lakh crore in loans without implementing a single major welfare or development programme, abandoning even the much-publicised 'Super Six' and 'Super Seven' schemes, and failing to address basic issues such as deteriorating roads. He asked where this massive borrowed money has gone.

'The government is resorting to diversion politics because of its total failure in governance, noting that promises of 20 lakh jobs have remained unfulfilled, while the administration has focused instead on filing cases against YSRCP leaders and running a sustained campaign of slander against Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, even attempting to appropriate the development work carried out during the YSRCP government,' he said, according to a statement.

Kethireddy asserted that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the YSRCP government had delivered on development and welfare, including establishing 17 medical colleges, completing major irrigation works, setting up the Uddanam Kidney Research Centre, and finishing comprehensive land surveys in 6,800 villages. He concluded that public anger is steadily growing as people begin to recognise Chandrababu Naidu's deceptions and the reality behind the so-called capital construction drive. (ANI)