Khammam: AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu countered criticism by his Telangana counterpart K. Chandrasekhar Rao on river waters by saying that AP was a downstream state and could not check water flowing to an upstream state.
Sharing the dais for the first time with AICC president Rajiv Gandhi in Khammam, Mr Naidu said that Telangana state had a lot of prospects and land for farming. The people of the state were energetic and hardworking and there was every opportunity to make TS a developed state.
He said he had commen-ced projects like Kalvaku-rty, Bhima, Devadula and Madhava Reddy irrigation projects in the region. “The Mamata Medical College in Khammam and many of the engineering colleges in Telangana came up because of my initiative,” he said, adding that Cyberabad was developed by his government.
He said he had worked as Chief Minister for nine-and-a-half years and Opposition leader for 10. “My ambition is that Telangana and Andhra Pradesh should be developed together. The people of the two states should be in a good position. I will not be a barrier for the development of Telangana,” he said.
He said the allegations made by Mr Rao were painful. He said Mr Rao would not be Chief Minister without the cooperation of the Telugu Desam. The party has given its assent to the formation of Telangana state, he said. He pointed out that the promises made in the AP Regoranisation Act were not being implemented, like the tribal university for Khammam and Bayyaram steel factory.
On NDA rule, he said all institutions were being weakened in Modi’s rule. The CBI, ED, RBI, I-T and Governor’s office were being misused. “These institutions are following the diktat of NDA rulers. Demonetisation and GST implementation are not done properly. Farmers and farm labourers faced problems with it. The insecure feeling among minorities and Dalits has increased. Attacks on the poor are being carried out,” he said.
Mr Naidu asked the people to work for the victory of the People’s Front candidates and he hoped that the people would give all 10 seats in the district to the alliance.
