Tirupati: The day Andhra Pradesh chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu packed his bags for the World Economic Forum meet in Davos to woo global investors to his new capital Amaravati, his arch-rival and YSR Congress Party chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy entered the temple town Tirupati in the southern-most part of the state.
He completed his 900-km padayathra named "Praja Sankalpa Yatra". With this he has covered the entire Rayalaseema region by foot. Walking under the hot sun and fighting the dust has not diminished his energy even on the 67th day of state-wide march.
After addressing a huge public meeting near the famous Sri Kalahasti temple, Jaganmohan Reddy spoke exclusively to News18 about a range of issues in his mobile tent, where he spends the night. Jagan said that he was ready to go with the BJP, if the Prime Minister grants special category status to Andhra Pradesh.
Hitting out at Chandrababu Naidu, he called the TDP chief the "king of lies". He also described the much-hyped Amaravati project as a huge scam. "Chandrababu Naidu is tom-tomming about Amaravati all over the world. He is now fooling the global investors. You go and see for yourself. There is nothing in Amaravati even after four years. Nothing means nothing. Naidu is not interested in building a dream city. It is a huge scam. It is a land grabbing scam," he said.
Jagan said that Naidu lacked both vision and commitment to execute such a project. He said, "In neighbouring Karnataka, almost 70 years ago they built a magnificent edifice Vidhana Soudha (state Assembly building) in just four years. The construction was started in 1952 and the building was ready by 1956. There was no advanced technology and the resources were scarce. But they achieved it."
"Naidu can't say time is too less. After the bifurcation of AP, we are competing with Bengaluru in Karnataka, Chennai in Tamil Nadu and Hyderabad in Telangana. After education our youth will go to these cities looking for jobs and wealth. We have nothing to offer them. At this rate we need at least 50 years to build a top class city like Bengaluru. Under Naidu it will never happen. Any dumb chief minister in Naidu’s place would have done a better job," he said.
He said that ordinary people of AP are fed up with him and TDP would be decimated in 2019 Lok Sabha and Assembly polls. "Naidu lied through his teeth. The only thing he knows is how to lie and fool the people. He is claiming that GDP rate of AP is over 12 per cent . India is growing at 5-6%. Global rate 2-3%. How can AP growth be 12%? What does he think of himself? His governance itself is a lie," he added.
The YSR Congress chief said there was a belief outside AP that Naidu was a developer and it was a myth. "Naidu is not a developer. The only development he knows is his personal development," he said.
Naidu, however, dismissed the remarks. Calling Jagan immature, he said the people of Andhra Pradesh do not take him seriously.
Talking about a possible tie-up with the BJP ahead of next year's polls, Reddy said that he was willing to go with the PM Modi if he was ready to grant special category state status to AP. "If the BJP is ready to grant us special status, we will go with them. The PM can do that in a minute. It is his prerogative," he said. Currently, TDP and BJP have an alliance in both AP and New Delhi. But the relationship seems to have soured in the last four years.
On his election strategy, Reddy said, "As far as AP is concerned, both Congress and BJP are irrelevant. They have no base here. Our primary target is Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP. I am ready to go with the BJP if special status is granted".
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