Naidu responsible for AP’s debt burden: YSRC leader

VIJAYAWADA: The previous Telugu Desam government took loans worth Rs 2.5 lakh crore; yet, not a penny was given to the poor, alleged YSR Congress’ medical wing chief on Tuesday. 

YSRCM’s Krishna district president Dr Mehaboob Shaik claimed that the present government, led by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, is working for people’s welfare through Direct Benefit Transfer, depositing money into the beneficiaries accounts on a saturation basis, without any corruption.

He alleged that the TD was largely responsible for the state’s debts as former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu had taken huge sums as loans during his tenure, which was later misused for publicity purposes, instead of devoting the same towards welfare and development.

Shaik stated that while the TD was set up to uphold the self-respect of Telugus, it has been reduced to defaming Telugus, undermining the interests of the state purely out of political selfishness.

Further, he stated that Naidu had first started borrowing following reforms of World Bank norms in 1999 and levied user charges and mortgaged government assets. Naidu had not paid dues of Rs. 50,000 crore to contractors, and it was the YSRC government that had cleared the pending bills on a priority basis.

Shaik said the Chief Minister deposited money in the bank accounts of beneficiaries without any interruptions despite the Covid-induced crisis, adding that AP was the only state which implemented welfare schemes during the pandemic.

He also refuted TD’s allegations of misuse of large chunks of government funds, stating that unable to digest the success of the current government, the TD was trying to prevent their government from getting funds for welfare and development activities, in order to defame the Chief Minister.