Ram Madhav says infra more important for AP

Kakinada: BJP general secretary Ram Madhav said that developing infrastructure in the state was more important than acquiring special category status.

He was speaking at the BJP state executive body meeting at the Dwaram-pudi Padmavathi Kalyana Mandapam near Nagama-llithota. The media was not allowed to cover the proceedings.

According to sources, Mr Madhav, the chief guest, lashed out at AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and the Congress.  He said that if there was no infrastructure development, there would be no use of the state getting SCS.

He accused Mr Naidu of pushing the state into a debt trap. Mr Madhav said Mr Naidu had run  up a huge debt and was blaming the Centre and the BJP for not allocating funds to the state.

He said that many Telugu people were working efficiently in the Northeast and had earned a name for themselves. Mr Naidu brought them to the state and made them into “lazy fellows”. He failed to use resources worth '8.50 lakh crore, Mr Madhav alleged.

He said that Mr Naidu was trying to promote his son Nara Lokesh. He said the BJP would not keep quite if Mr Naidu wanted to cede government properties to his family members or the Janmabhoomi committees in the state.

On the Congress, Mr Madhav said, “The Congress is a sinking ship and a family-oriented party.  The Congress is the only political party in the country that does not have a single Assembly seat in Andhra Pradesh and Nagaland. Mr Naidu wants to get on to such a sinking ship,’’ said Mr Madhav, referring to reports of an alliance between the tw parties.

He said that the BJP would form government after the 2019 elections in Andhra Pradesh. No party would be able to assume power without the support of the BJP, Mr Madhav said.

He said that without Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Naidu would not have found a place in AP politics in 2014. The BJP cadre should take this truth to the people, he said.

AP state BJP president, Kanna Lakshminarayana, presided over the meeting.

Ram Madhav gives boost to BJP cadre

BJP leader Varanasi Ram Madhav attempted to boost the morale of the AP party unit after TD president and AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu broke off the alliance.

Although some leaders were campaigning thinking that the party would win in 2019, the other leaders and cadres were not so hopeful.

Against this backdrop, Mr Madhav at the state-level executive body told party leaders that they should highlight the corrupt activities of the ruling party. They should also explain how much the Centre as helping AP.

He suggested that party leaders should go slow on social media and go to the people to attract them to the party.

The size of the state executive had risen from 250 in 2014 to 450 now. The leaders should strive hard to attract more people, Mr Madhav said. He suggested that seniors should give newcomers a chance to work more.

Some seniors suggested that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah hold meetings in AP. But, Mr Madhav said that every leader should work hard so that there would be no need for meetings by the two leaders. He praised state party chief Kanna Lakshminarayana, calling him a progressive and enthusiastic leader having good leadership qualities.