Chandrababu Rule Replete With Self-Created Blunders: YS Jagan

Corruption in Andhra Pradesh under Telugu Desam Party will be probed as soon as YSRCP comes to power, said Leader of Opposition in Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. In an interview to a Telugu television channel during the course of his padayatra, YS Jagan asserted that the guilty should be punished and added that the ruling TDP would not be able to win more than 40 seats in the upcoming elections.

Here is a transcript of the interview:

Q-Your padayatra which began in Idupulapaya seems to have got extended beyond its original schedule?

YSJ: Originally, I had planned to conclude my padayatra within six months. However, from the day I set out on my walkathon from Idupulapaya, people have been coming in large numbers to meet me. Courtesy demands that one lends a patient ear to those who come and greet you with such abundant love and affection. I am determined to conclude my padayatra in Ichchapuram as planned no matter how arduous the journey may prove to me.

Q-Have you identified burning issues as problems which you must attend to?

YSJ: Anything is possible if the government works with sincerity and commitment. All the problems which Andhra Pradesh faces are manmade and because of the callousness of the TDP government. This negligence has led to widespread discontent among all sections including farmers who have complained everywhere about lack of minimum support price for their produce.

Farmers complained that after Chandrababu Naidu assumed office they felt betrayed. Their produce had come down and they are unable to repay the loans which they had borrowed from banks. Farmers are unable to step into banks for assistance and lending institutions are missing their targets. This is Chandrababu's progress report in four years.

When Chandrababu assumed office, the debt was over Rs 86,000 crores and it has now crossed over a lakh crores! Whatever happened to farm loan waivers! Farmers are reeling under the weight of debts. Previous governments would pay the interest amount on loans to banks. Chandrababu stopped doing this. Therefore, isn't the situation a manmade one?

Chandrababu procures farmers' produce at lower prices and sells them at his Heritage outlets for steep prices. How can the middlemen system be rooted out if the chief minister himself turns into one?

Q-The problem of Minimum Support Price has been prevalent for ages now. Is it possible to offer MSP to all farmers?

YSJ: During my father late Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy's tenure, the problem of minimum support price did not arise, and even if it did, it was resolved immediately. The prices went up following his intervention and active support to farmers. Dr YSR took some truly revolutionary steps to alleviate the suffering of farmers. He ensured free power supply to farmers and the price of paddy shot up from Rs 550 and touched Rs 1030 by the end of five years. He would exert pressure on the Centre to help the farmers on the issue of MSP. Not once during his 4-year alliance with the BJP at the centre, did Chandrababu Naidu write to the Union government seeking help on farmers' issues.

Q-What is the logic behind Chandrababu Naidu neglecting farmers' issues? Is he willing to forego farmers' votes?

YSJ: To Cite an example, in Chandrbabu Naidu's native district of Chittoor mangoes are cultivated on 2.5 lakh acres out of which Thothapuri variety is grown on 1.7 lakh acres. By the time farmers harvest their crops, the prices nosedive. At the time of harvest the price stood at Rs 23,000 but when the farmers were ready to sell their produce, it fell sharply to Rs 4,000. We have seen for ourselves how farmers were forced to dump their precious produce on the roads.

What is the chief minister of the state doing while his party leaders, including Lok Sabha MP Jaya Galla who owns Galla foods, Sreeni foods owned by Chittoor TDP leader and Heritage bought the produce at throwaway prices.

For his own selfish ends and to help his proxies, Chandrababu Naidu has turned a blind eye to prices which have hit rock bottom. This is a classic example to demonstrate that Chandrababu Naidu's four-year rule is replete with avoidable and manmade disasters. All this is rooted in his insincerity and corrupt vision.

Another fact which came to light during the course of my padayatra relates to school education. Uniforms and book which should have been supplied to the students in April have still not reached them, thereby ensuring that they are forced to study in private institutions instead of government schools. What is the intention of the government if the textbooks haven't reached the students a month and a half after the schools reopened? Chandrababu's proxies own private schools. The mid-day meal scheme has been completely watered down and ayahs are paid an honorarium of just Rs 1,000.

The schools have to meet expenditure on their own and then claim it from the government. Moreover, these bills are not being settled for as long as six months. All these are pointers to the help Chandrababu Naidu has been ensuring to Narayana and Chaitanya groups of educational institutions at the cost of government schools.

Q-Will you reduce the tax on fuel prices?

YSJ: Certainly. Fuel prices are the highest in the country here. People are reeling under the burden of rising fuel costs. Comparitively in neighbouring states, the cost of fuel is lesser by Rs 7. This is yet another example of the total failure of the Chandrababu Naidu government. Lorry owners wanted to strike work over rising fuel prices. Moreover, he makes false claims about loan waivers when he has not done anything.

Q-You say that Chandrababu Naidu has failed on all fronts while he is trumpeting about 1500 days in office.

YSJ: Chandrababu will face the heat as people can see through his lies.

Q-You had announced Navarathanalu before embarking on your padayatra. Are you incorporating any changes based on your experiences in your walkathon?

YSJ: We have been making changes all along. We will release he manifesto in four phases. The fee reimbursement scheme is lies in the shambles. A Nellore boy committed suicide because his parents couldn't afford to educate him as the fee reimbursement didn't come through. This incident continues to haunt me.

The fee reimbursement scheme needs to be implemented extensively across the state. Arogyasri is one of the flagship programmes Andhra Pradesh is known for. The scope of this pioneering healthcare initiative launched by my father late Dr YSR has now been narrowed down. Arogyasri doesn't work in Hyderabad which has all the best healthcare facilities; In case of cancer patients Arogyasri can be availed only twice for chemotherapy. However, the media hype around Arogyasri is misleading.

The TDP government is snatching away lands for houses given during Dr YSR regime. If god gives you the opportunity to change things as chief minister, what should be your first priority? You must work like there is no tomorrow to transform lives of the poorest of the poor in a way that people remember you long after you are gone.

Q-Chandrababu has been cautioning people against voting for others claiming that they have a historic opportunity to vote for TDP

YSJ: The people of Andhra Pradesh are aware of the current state of affairs. It is foolish of Chandrababu to presume that people are ignorant.

Q-Will YSRCP fight the elections on its own or will it go in for an alliance?

YSJ: There is time yet for the elections, but we will not have any tie-ups. If one looks at the prevailing situation, Congress is responsible for bifurcation of the state and did not help the state in any way even when it could. It was only mentioned in the AP State Reorganisation Act that Kadapa Steel factory as also refinery should be given among several other provisions but there is no mandate as such.

Had special category status been incorporated unambiguously, we could have gone to court seeking justice. The BJP, on the other hand, is in power at the Centre and can deliver on all promises and yet has not acted upon them. Why should we go in for an alliance with them? TDP was in an alliance with BJP for four years but did not ensure justice to Andhra Pradesh.

On top of it all, Chandrababu Naidu claimed that BJP had done more for Andhra Pradesh than any other state at a media meet held on January 27, 2017. He even welcomed the package given to Andhra Pradesh in the state Assembly. The Centre in its argument in the Supreme Court argued that the Andhra Pradesh has agreed to a special package instead of SCS to the state.

With elections round the corner, Chandrababu Naidu is trying to malign others. In the past Jana Sena had lent his support to TDP whereas today, it is shorn of support from both Jana Sena as well as BJP. Besides, the much hyped state capital has become a grazing ground for the cattle owned by TDP legislators! By the grace of God, we will go it alone in the elections.

Also Read: KSR INTERVIEW: Bypolls Different From General Elections, Says YS Jagan