Jagan Mohan Reddy supporting NDA bills unconditionally: Nara Lokesh

Amaravati: TDP General Secretary Nara Lokesh on Friday demanded Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to explain to the people why all the 22 MPs of his party were unconditionally supporting the NDA Government's bills at the Centre without bargaining or fighting for the AP Reorganisation promises.

Lokesh asked the CM to clarify whether or not his party support was not required for the Central Government to pass its bills in the Parliament. In that case, Jagan Reddy owed an explanation why he was not using this bargaining power to achieve Polavaram funds and Special Category Status for the unjustly divided Andhra Pradesh State.

Addressing a press conference here, Nara Lokesh asserted that the CM and his co-accused were mortgaging the overall interests of the State at the Centre in order to save themselves from the illegal assets cases. It was because of the compromise of the YSRCP MPs that AP has lost Rs. 35,000 Cr which eventually pushed Polavaram into danger zone forever. The CM was making visits to Delhi by special flights and sending crores of public funds but he was not holding any press conference lik other CMS to tell AP people what issues he took up with the Prime Minister. Jagan Reddy should realise that his meetings with the PM and Union Ministers cannot be held as secrets considering his the high public office he is holding.

Lokesh hit back at the allegations of the YSRCP leaders, saying that a rash driving charge cannot be levelled in case of a tractor since its speed would be very limited. In the recent incident, the tractor just landed in a pothole covered under the water but nobody was hurt. Incidentally, the SI and the CI in that area were present during that visit. They did not object at the time of the incident but somebody from the top made telephone calls following which the case was filed. First, the YSRCP levelled allegations of Rs. 6 lakh Cr corruption and later reduced it to Rs. 1 lakh Cr. Afterwards, they brought up an unrelated fibergrid issue and now, the pathetic YSRCP leaders were stooping to making tractor driving related allegations.

Stating that way back during NTR time, the TDP objected to meters on agricultural connections, Lokesh said that their party would stand by the farmers in their struggle against fixing the meters. Jagan Reddy was acting like an anti-farmer CM as he was going to make AP the first State in the entire country to install farm meters. Even the BJP-ruled States were not reacting positively to these meters right now. The AP Government, which does not give financial assistance to flood victims, has already released Rs. 6 Cr or so to procure meters for farm connections.

Lokesh said that while the YSRCP was trying to harm the farmers' interests in regard to meters, the TDP MPs had raised their voice in the Parliament demanding provision in the farm bill for ensuring remunerative prices for farmers crops. Jagan Reddy should explain why he was so hasty to please and satisfy the Central Government by fixing the meters on farm connections.