Naidu says Jagan ‘destroyed Andhra’s future’ over three capitals: Report

Ten years after Telangana was sliced out of it along with capital city Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh still does not have a capital, which is one of the major poll planks of the NDA alliance in the southern state, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu has said in a media interview.

Andhra Pradesh will be voting simultaneously for the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls on May 13. Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Pawan Kayan’s Jana Sena have joined hands with the BJP to take on Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress Party, which won a landslide victory in the 2019 Assembly polls, bagging more than 86 per cent of the seats.

Capital loss

However, Naidu, who was the chief minister before Reddy, said in an interview to NDTV that the people have been betrayed and they have realised it. Naidu was particularly critical about Reddy’s decision to have three capital cities, which has resulted in the state having none at all for 10 years.

After the bifurcation of the state in 2014, Naidu had started developing Amaravati as the new capital city of what was left as Andhra Pradesh. However, Reddy decided to have three capital cities. Amaravati would be the legislative capital, Visakhapatnam the executive capital, and Kurnool the judicial capital. However, the High Court struck down the idea and the YSRCP government then moved Supreme Court, where it is now pending.

“After 10 years, we don’t have an address, which is our capital? Jagan is saying three capitals. Has it been successful anywhere in the world?” Naidu told NDTV, asserting that a capital is “very important”. The Leader of Opposition in the Assembly added that Reddy’s five-year rule had done more damage to the state than bifurcation did.

Reddy “destroyed” Andhra’s future

The TDP chief, who will be contesting his 10th election, tore into Reddy, saying he had betrayed the people of Andhra Pradesh and destroyed their future. He told NDTV that the people have realised what they “lost” in the past five years and that “every section of people is annoyed and frustrated”. He said he had got everything done in Amaravati, but Reddy “destroyed the future of Andhra in the name of three capitals”.

TDP had broken out of the NDA fold six years ago after Naidu’s demand for a special status for Andhra was not met. On his return to the alliance, Naidu spoke about the positives. He listed what he got instead — 11 all-India institutes of education and health, IIT, IIM, IISER, NIT, AIIMS. He added that the Centre had also given money and clearances for Amaravati and capital gains exemption for farmers.

Looking forward

Naidu asserted that his experience and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision would make Andhra Pradesh “the best” again. According to him, Modi is “planning for 2047”. Modi’s vision is to make India and Indians No. 1 globally and he would want to coordinate with the Centre and fulfil the aspirations of the Telugu community.

“Local leadership with strong national leadership will help us,” he told NDTV.

He claimed the YSRCP government’s policies has pushed the state’s economy into bad shape, with corruption being rampant and opportunities being destroyed. He said even government properties had been mortgaged and Reddy had borrowed Rs 13 lakh crore.

Talking about allegations of corruption against him, for which he was arrested last year, Naidu argued that no one had been able to produce “a single piece of evidence” against him. Alleging political victimisation, Naidu said he had survived in politics for 45 years for his “credibility, honesty, and integrity”. He asserted that “no one can question it”.