‘Naidu behaving as if he’s still the CM’

Visakhapatnam: Tourism minister Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao on Saturday challenged former

chief minister

N Chandrababu Naidu to come for an open debate on looting of sand during TDP’s tenure and also on the land scams in Visakhapatnam. He also asked the TDP chief to refrain from criticising chief minister Jaganmohan Reddy.

Naidu, during his two-day visit to Vizag earlier this week, had blamed Jagan for the sand scarcity in the state. Srinivasa Rao said he would reveal the names of the TDP MLAs involved in looting of sand during Naidu’s tenure. He added that the YSRC government’s main agenda is to develop AP, not fight with the Centre. “We have leaders and cadre to give a befitting reply to TDP. As a senior politician, Naidu should maintain decorum and dignity. He should change both his language and his body language. He’s behaving as if he’s still the CM,” the minister said.

Accusing Naidu of cheating farmers with false promises, he said Jagan, on the other hand, has been fulfilling all his promises. “Rythu Bharosa will be launched on October 15 and will benefit 3.36 lakh farmers in Visakha district alone. Each farmer would get Rs 12,500 annually that would directly go to their accounts. Naidu was chief minister for 15 years. What did he do other than cheating people with false promises? Can’t he wait for 15 months to see what this government can do?” he asked.

YSRC’s Anakapalli MLA G Amarnath said Naidu is fast losing his mental balance. “He compared YSRC’s rule as a ‘stone in a mad man’s hand’. But the phrase best suits the governance of Naidu. He took over the reins of TDP and assumed the CM’s office by backstabbing his own father-in-law (NT Rama Rao) in 1995. Since then, he contested all the elections in alliance with other parties. For the first time in 2019, TDP contested the election alone and got decimated. The result is a testimony of the poor governance and leadership abilities of Naidu,” Amarnath said.