Naidu’s silence ridiculous

YSR Congress has criticised Chandrababu Naidu for his stoic silence at the hour of reckoning and said that the ruling party should get ready for a joint fight against the Centre for attaining special status.

‘Chandrababu Naidu asking his people not to talk about the issue and not to criticise BJP is ridiculous as this is the right moment to react and we invite TDP to join the fight against the Centre on special status,’ party spokesperson Vasireddy Padma told reporters here on Saturday.

The Centre has made it clear about its stand on special status and exemptions to capital city throwing the state at a disadvantageous position. Chandrababu Naidu still not reacting to the situation and asking his people to not to criticise the BJP is beyond comprehension.

Unless we get special status, there would be no industrialisation and no development and people of the state are eagerly waiting for it.

‘We have launched the agitation on behalf of the people and if the ruling TDP too joins the Centre will come down. If Chandrababu Naidu tries to downplay the issue, people will teach him a lesson, she said.

The silence of Chandrababu Naidu has been sending wrong signals and his order to his party workers and leaders not to criticise BJP makes no sense. At least now he has to open up,’ she said.

Time for decisive fight on Spl. Status

Appealing to the people to raise to the occasion and join the fight for special status as this is the time of reckoning, YSR Congress has said that Chandrababu Naidu has mortgaged the interests of the people and is working for personal gains instead of state’s priorities.

‘The May 10 dharna seeking special status has a wide appeal as every section of the society is looking forward for it while TDP has been dilly-dallying the issue and the Centre has vehemently said no to the special category status.

During elections, from the dais shared by Narender Modi, M Venkaiah Naidu and N Chandrababu Naidu it was said that special category status will be accorded but after the coalition comes to power but they have been side-stepping the issue, party spokesperson Ambati Rambabu told reporters here on Friday.

Chandababu Naidu is scared of asking the Centre as he is involved in many scams and has lost face on one hand and his remarks that Centre should not be blamed as it will take a right decision at an appropriate time only shows the level in which he has surrendered to the centre.

We have waited for two years and all along we have been raising the issue at various fronts and when it was repeatedly negated in Parliament we have taken up the issue and want to vent the voice of the people. The May 10 dharna is the beginning of what could be a decisive fight to achieve the special status which got the cabinet nod and was assured of in the Parliament and was also assured during electioneering.

‘This is the time to raise to the occasion and Chandrababu Naidu may put hurdles by  misusing official machinery to foil the dharna by preventive arrests and using such repressive measures but we are determined to take up the issue in a big way and we cannot let go the State and Centre on special status which provides exemptions and incentives that will create more employment opportunities,’ he said.

Chandrababu Naidu seems to be scared of TRS and BJP and he has always bargained for his personal gains and not for the state welfare. His remarks that he will go to Delhi and talk to the people is just an eye-wash as he has done nothing for the past two years but only surrender to the Centre.

If he is sincere in the special status, he should withdraw support to NDA and ask his two MPs to quit the union cabinet and then fight but being part of the coalition and boasting of a fight is ridiculous, he said.

YSR stands as an icon of projects

• Water for crore acres is an impossible statement
• Commission business in teh name of projects
• Konda slams KCR
• Pending projects should be completed: Konda

Hyderabad: TYSRCP's official spokesman Konda Raghava Reddy slammed TRS. he criticised KCR for running commission business with the name of projects. He suggested that KCR stopped looting. He informed that the 4 projects in Palamuru could provide irrigation water to 8,50,000 acres with an investment of Rs.700 crore but KCR was ignoring that and looting money with the name of project redesign. He complained that KCR was pretending to redesign the projects only to avoid the credit from reaching late Dr.YS Rajasekhar Reddy as the projects had been initiated by him. 

TYSRCP had made certain resolutions. It demanded the Government to immediately complete all the pending projects initiated by Dr. YS Rajasekhar Reddy by sanctioning Rs.10,000 crore. Raghavareddy reminded Dr.YSR's opinion that in case of demise of an MLA, one of his family members should be given a chance to fill their position. He announced that TYSRCP leaders would canvass in support of Sucharitha in by-elections of Palair constituency. Raghavareddy revealed that another resolution had been made condemning the rumours that TYSRCP and Congress had merged. he made it clear that TYSRCP had not merged with any other party.

Konda Raghava Reddy demanded that the MLAs and MPs who had quit YSRCP for other parties resigned immediately. He informed that TYSRCP state executive committee had been cancelled. The responsibility of selection of the new president and the executive committee was handed over to YSRCP president YS Jagan, he added. He mentioned that complaints would be given in the parliament and the assembly against the defectors.

Raghava Reddy insisted that all mandals were announced by the Government as drought areas. He also demanded that fodder should be bought from other states by the Government and distributed to the farmers of Telangana for free. He assured that they would work for consolidation of the party in the state and confided that it would emerge as a decision-making authority by 2019. 

Raghavareddy remarked that KCr should finish the projects initiated by Dr.YSR before attempting to initiate new projects. He mentioned that if the 4 projects in Mehboobnagar were completed, the state would flourish. He revealed that if 6 of the 36 projects initiated by YSR were completed, 6 lakh acres would receive water. As 21 projects were in partially completed stage and 9 were under construction, a sanction of Rs.10,000 crore would make it possible for 40 lakh acres to receive irrigation water, he proclaimed. He slammed KCR for ignoring his duty and going on to initiate new projects. Konda announced complete support on behalf of TYSRCP to the strike intended by YS Jagan.

He remarked that TYSRCP had lost so much under the 18-month leadership of Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy. He criticised him for defecting the party upon having accomplished flexible agreement, in spite of announcing in media conferences that he would not. He condemned KCR for his false promises like double bedroom apartments. He complained that KCR was trying to flare up war between panchayats with the name of Palamuru-Rangareddy-Dindi projects.

YSRCP dharna on May 10 for spl. Status

Escalating its fight for special status YSR Congress would launch an agitation demanding special status and will hold dharnas across the state on May 10 with Party President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy participating in the protest rally in East Godavari.

‘The statement of Union Minister of State for Finance Jayanth Sinha on the special status has clarity that it is not going to happen. The earlier statement in Rajya Sabha by another minister too was on similar lines and must have been emboldened by the failure of State to mount pressure on the Centre on the issue,’ party leader Botsa Satyanaranaya told reporters here on Thursday.

We have been very consistent on our demand for special status but the ruling TDP had accused us of stalling the development of the state, while special status would pave way for development with industries coming in as the status would come with incentives and provide job opportunities.

The State has never bothered to highlight the importance of the special status, which has the cabinet nod and was assured in the Parliament and BJP MPs along with Chandrababu Naidu before the polls have promised to increase the term of special status from five to ten years.

After coming to power they fell silent and Chandrababu Naidu, who was caught red-handed in the cash for vote case, remained silent and continues to be in the coalition and his two MPs are not withdrawn from the cabinet, despite the periodical statements from union ministers watering down the special status issue.

The union ministers have taken a cue from the Chief Minister who himself spoke ill about the special status and we have drafted an action plan to launch an agitation to mount pressure on the State and Central governments on the issue.

On May 10 our party leaders will hold dharnas at district collector offices across the state and our President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will take part in the dharna at East Godavari collectorate. We will submit representation demanding the Centre to accord special status and also honour all assurances given during the bifurcation of the state and will intensify the agitation, he said.

Chandrababu Naidu has been looking after his personal interests and ignoring state interests, he said.

Meanwhile, Ambati Rambabu addressing a separate press conference at Guntur said that Chandrababu Naidu will not be excused by the people of the state for letting them down on the special status issue.

‘We demand that the TDP ministers should be withdrawn from the cabinet to mount pressure on NDA government if Chandrababu Naidu is serious,’ he said.

In a separate press conference, senior leader Dharmana Prasada Rao said that the Chief Minister has come to the most backward district of Srikakulam and left the people highly disappointed as there was no promise of any major industry or venture.

Hike wages, Jagan tells Brandix

Visakhapatnam, May 4: Expressing solidarity with the employees of Brandix Apparels, who are on strike demanding wage hike, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has said that he would sit on dharna along with the employees if the Company does not concede to the just demands within one month.

‘We will set one month deadline for the government and the Company to come to terms and clear the wage hike demand which is very much justified as the Company is making profits and what it is paying is a pittance. If the wages are not increased to Rs 10,000 per month I will sit along with you in the strike,’ he said while addressing the workers here on Wednesday.

‘We condemn the government’s adamant attitude and misusing official machinery by employing repressive measures. Police lathi-charging the employees including women and putting 500 of them in various police stations day long is an act of terrorising the workers who are on strike with their demands and the police action taking place when Chief Minister is in town shows the attitude of the state, he said.

We shall fight it out and any harassment to the employees will be unitedly fought and we shall teach the government a lesson, he said.

Some of the employees had poured their woes to Jagan, who assured them that things will fall in place in the coming one week.

It is unfortunate and unfair that the wage revision, which should take place once in five years was pegged at 20 % hike even as the company is reaping profits. The working conditions are pathetic in the factory with the management knocking the washroom doors and not allowing them to use it, he said.

The factory came into existence in 2006 and the pay revision should have taken place in 2011 but that did not take place. Normally wage revision takes place in five years but here the wages were slashed and the minimum wages were reduced to Rs 4,100 and the management has connived with the government and did not increase the pay as per norms and had increased only by 20 %.

The company has received benefits from the government for setting up the factory and had assured that it would pay the workers as per the norms besides other assurances and is running in profits but is not yielding to the main demand of pay hike, he said.

The company has boasted that it would give employment to 60,000 workers but had taken in only 18,000 but the paying is poor and given the present cost of living is not sufficient, he said.

‘The Company is exporting the garments to the US and Europe. Those countries pay nine dollars (Rs 600 per hour which works out to Rs 4,800 per day but here the payment is paltry. The wage should be increased to Rs 10,000 per month, he said.

The State should ensure that the wages are revised and the demands of the people are met he said and assured that the party will be with them and join them in the fight for wage hike.

Naidu surrendered to KCR

Chandrababu Naidu has been scared of the KCR and he has been mortgaging the interests of five crores people to save his skin and has been allowing the neighbouring state to go ahead with irrigation projects that are detrimental to the state’s interests.

‘The cabinet decisions have a dubious accent on the irrigation project giving shot in the arm to Telangana government which is going ahead with the Palamuru Ranga Reddy and Dindi projects. The TDP cabinet, which was silent all the time had met after YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had announced his deksha and gave statements with guarded riders,’ party leader Bhumana Karunakar Reddy told reporters here on Tuesday.

Chandrababu Naidu, who is involved in the cash for vote case, has never been assertive on the sharing of the river waters and has never took strong objection to the projects being taken up by the KCR government.

By side-lining the Polavaram and taking up the Pattiseema, Chandrababu Naidu has totally surrendered to KCR at the cost of the welfare of five crores people of Andhra Pradesh and has never spoken against the projects being taken up by Telangana government.

When YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has announced that he would launch a three-day fast  under the slogan Save Krishna delta which includes the projects being taking up by Telangana government, Andhra Pradesh cabinet has given out a token feeler and suggested that projects should be constructed only after getting permission.

‘This timid reaction shows the surrender of the Chandrababu Naidu to KCR. It is time for confrontations and to adopt an aggressive approach which our leader has been doing. The proposed projects will affect Rayalaseema, Guntur, Prakasam, Nellore, Khammam and Nalgonda districts as well and we will fight it out,’ he said.

Our leader YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will take up the three day indefinite fast as a people’s leader who will raise to the occasion, he said.

TDP has failed to even raise the issue if the projects being taken up are having proper clearances or not, he said.

TDP failed in tackling drought

Macherla (Guntur dist), May 2: Castigating Chandrababu Naidu for his inefficient and inept handling of the drought situation in state and his misplaced priorities, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has said that TDP government would pay a heavy price for ignoring the interests of farmers and other sections of people who are bearing the brunt of his anti-people policies.

‘The State did not release a single rupee towards input subsidy and did not even hold review meetings to draw an action plan to meet the imminent drought situation and mitigate it by providing drinking water and employing farm hands in the Central scheme of NREGS and this government has no right to rule,’ the leader of opposition said during the dharna in protest against the failure of TDP government in mitigating severe drought in the State.

The party has given a call to hold dharnas at all the mandal headquarters to highlight the failure of Chandrababu Naidu government in tackling the drought which is sweeping across the state.

‘Though the crops have dried up, people are facing acute drinking water shortage, livestock has been facing severe fodder and water crisis and people are not getting work and are migrating to other places for livelihood, Chandrababu Naidu government is indifferent and has been misusing the Central NREGA scheme and is not employing 60 % of the workforce as per the guidelines and is using machine component more.

Even with the funds running in to Rs 4,500 crores the state has diverted Rs 1,000 crore for laying cement roads and Rs 2,500 crores towards Neeru Chettu programme while the farmhands are not given their due share of employment.

It was only during YSR term that 97.3 % of the funds were used for employing workforce instead of machines, he said.

Though Nagarjuna sagar is at close proximity, this town is facing severe drinking water crisis. While YSR has released Rs 17 crores for the drinking water to this town, Chandrababu Naidu has been very indifferent. Various schemes were launched by YSR to roll a green carpet in the area but the TDP government has not been taking them up even some of them are near completion.

Nagarjunasagar lacks water as it has to come from Srisailam as the Krishna waters have to flow from the upper riparian states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana.

From Mahbubnagar Telangana government has been drawing 150 TMC of water for the Palamuru – Ranga Reddy lift scheme and Chandrababu Naidu has never raised his voice of protest as he is scared of KCR after the exposure in the cash for vote case,  he said. 

In his home state while people are suffering with acute water shortage and drought conditions, Chandrababu Naidu has been on a MLA-buying spree spending huge amounts.

When it comes to input subsidy, the State did not sanction even a single rupee and has left the farmers in distress. Though Rs 1,000 crores were sanctioned, the state did not release a single rupee and farmers were left high and dry.

Before elections, Chandrababu Naidu has promised that he would pay the input subsidy for the year 2013-14 but did not pay the amount of Rs 1,648 cores. In the next year, 2014-15 the figure was pegged at Rs 1,500 crores and in the Collectors Conference it was scaled down to Rs 1, 000 cores and the cabinet has further cut it down to Rs 692 crores and still some amount is in arrears and is to be paid. For 2015-16 the state has written a letter claiming a loss of Rs 1,000 crores due to drought and cyclones but nothing is forthcoming and the State has never been sincere in follow up as it has different parameters, he said.

When there are enough indicators of drought, the State should convene a meeting of district collectors in the months of February and March and draw an action plan about repair works and storage camps but the TDP government has held just one review meeting and did not bother to hold any meeting nor chalk out a plan to mitigate drought and provide succour to the poor.

‘We are holding dharnas across the state in protest against the indifference of the state government in tackling the drought and we shall join hands to teach this government a lesson, ‘he said.