Haribabu hits out at state sponsored agitations

VIJAYAWADA: BJP state unit president K. Haribabu found fault with the state government sponsored agitations in the name of Special Category Status. He also objected against Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi on foreign land. He reminded that Opposition parties maintain the tradition of not criticising government heads on foreign land.

Talking to reporters after releasing a 30-page open letter to the public on Central assistance to Andhra Pradesh on Sunday, Mr Haribabu said that a similar situation was witnessed in 2013 during Samaikya-ndhra agitation when the then Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy openly encouraged students and government staff to take to streets.

Likening the present situation with the one that prevailed in 2013, Mr Haribabu worried that governance will take a back seat when there are such government-sponsored agitations. He also objected against the orders given by the School Education Department to government school teachers, through DEOs, to take out rallies on April 17. 

Mr Haribabu observed that Mr Naidu had welcomed the special financial package announced by the Centre and announced the same in the Assembly and now took a U-turn by demanding the Special Category Status. 

He also pointed the rationale behind Chief Minister N. Chandra-babu Naidu deciding to sit on a hunger strike on April 20 as Naidu had found fault with Prime Minister Narendra Modi sitting on a similar fast few days ago. 

He added that with an intention to make bifurcated Andhra Pradesh financially strong, the BJP then demanded for Special Category Status and said that the financial benefit a state gets under special category status was being given to Andhra Pradesh without such a title. 

Mr Haribabu said that the Centre was committed to filling the revenue deficit of '22,000 crore and also gave the financial benefit of '16,000 crore under the special financial package. 

He wondered why the state government was not ready to take '16,000 crore under the special package by setting up a special purpose vehicle which will not affect state’s borrowings under FRBM.

Mr Haribabu reminded that the Centre had also agreed to the request made by the state government on funding from Indian financial institutions for externally aided projects instead of foreign institutions.  

The BJP state chief also said that three Central government companies — HPCL, GAIL and ONGC together will be investing around '1.10 lakh crore in the state in the coming years. He added that proposals on setting up a petrochemical complex at Kakinada at a cost of '33,000 crore are ready and there is no truth in the statements made by TDPP leader MP Thota Narasimham that the Centre has been contemplating to take the project to another state. 

He further said that Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of the crude oil refinery proposed at Rajasthan was also 14 per cent and condemned Mr Naidu’s argument that IRR was 12 per cent which is 2 per cent lesser of the IRR of the proposed refinery in AP. 

Mr Haribabu also showed a resolution that was introduced by Mr Naidu 6 months ago during an NDA meeting in which he praised Modi’s rule and also wished that he becomes Prime Minister again in 2019.