‘Brand CBN’ making global firms look towards AP: Lokesh

Vijayawada: Minister for IT, electronics and HRD Nara Lokesh said during his week-long visit to the United States, all the globally-renowned companies gave a red-carpet welcome to him immediately after mentioning the name of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. “It is the brand image of CBN,” he said.

He said the entire world is looking towards Andhra Pradesh because of the sole reason of Chandrababu Naidu (CBN). “I could get the TCS unit to the state only after a 90-minute discussion with the company chairman, Chandrasekharan, because of CBN. Also, I got the appointment of the Microsoft chief executive officer (CEO) Satya Nadendla, with just a mail,” Lokesh said while unveiling the statue of the TDP founder and former chief minister late NT Rama Rao in Atlanta in the US organised by the NTR Trust.

He said with the CBN brand, he had asked Fortune 500 companies to invest in the state. In fact, the whole country is looking towards Andhra Pradesh with much anxiety about what sort of reforms will be brought in by the state government, he remarked.

The Telugu people across the globe are now getting so much respect only because of NTR who brought the party to power within nine months of its launching, he said. NTR is a synonym for strict discipline and commitment and the very word ‘self-respect’ immediately reminds the name of the celebrity NTR’, Lokesh said.

It was NTR who introduced welfare to the whole country, the IT minister said and promised to take forward the TDP with his aspirations. Maintaining that Chandrababu was sent to jail by the previous government for no fault of his, he recalled that the entire Telugu community, including the Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) came onto the road strongly protesting against his arrest.

Terming the NRIs as MRIs (The Most Reliable Indians), Lokesh felt that though all the NRIs live in the US but their affection is only towards India and Andhra Pradesh as they always wish that the state should prosper. Recalling that the NRIs came to the state to exercise their franchise by spending a whopping Rs 2 lakh each, he said that some of them remained in the State for almost a year to extend their services to the people.

Pointing out that free gas cylinder supply is being launched on the occasion of Deepavali, Lokesh said that the TDP-led NDA government always keeps its promises made to the people. Also, the pensions of various categories of beneficiaries have already been revised and the state government is now filling up 16,500 teacher posts through DSC.