Allegation that Centre has done nothing for A.P.’s development is unfounded, says Purandeswari

Allegation that Centre has done nothing for A.P.’s development is unfounded, says BJP State president Purandeswari. A false campaign has been unleashed for the sake of deriving political mileage, she says. Various projects have been delayed due to the YSRCP government’s non-cooperation, she alleges. The Central government has provided substantial financial assistance for the construction of the capital city Amaravati, Ms. Purandeswari says.

BJP State president Daggubati Purandeswari has asserted that the Union government has been giving the desired hand-holding to Andhra Pradesh since bifurcation, but a false campaign is unleashed that it has done nothing for the sake of deriving political mileage.

In fact, the Central government provided substantial financial assistance for the construction of the capital city Amaravati, and did many other things for the development of the State, Ms. Purandeswari said while addressing a meeting of the party’s Sakthi Kendrasand polling booth in-charges here on November 18.

The BJP had taken a stand that the capital should be retained in Amaravati, and it was still committed to that, she said, while insisting that the announcement of capital gains tax exemption by the then Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, for the benefit of farmers who parted with their lands for the development of Amaravati reflected the BJP-led NDA government’s concern for them.

Ms. Purandeswari said various projects were delayed due to the State government’s non-cooperation, but the Centre was being wrongly blamed for the problems.

In one of such several instances, works in some stretches of the road being laid from Gollapudi (NTR district) to Mangalagiri (Guntur district), at a cost of ₹1,200 crore (sanctioned by the Centre) had to be suspended because of certain issues not sorted out by the State, she said.

Further, Ms. Purandeswari said the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government was suppressing any dissent perceived by it as troublesome and the atrocities on the BCs, SCs, STs and minorities were conspicuous. But, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy was merely expressing sympathies to the victims. Much of what the Chief Minister was speaking about the welfare of the poor was confined to rhetoric, she insisted.

Party leaders S. Dayakar Reddy, Sk. Baji, A. Sriram, M. Vamsi, Pathuri Nagabhushanam, S. Yamini Sarma, and U. Srinivasa Raju were present.