Lokesh sees rebuilding AP as great opportunity

Visakhapatnam : The alliance government has to start from the ‘minus’ as Andhra Pradesh has lagged behind as far as IT and industrial growth graph is concerned, worried Minister for IT, Electronics and HRD Nara Lokesh.

When asked whether there is a huge challenge that lies ahead for the State government to start from scratch, Lokesh told The Hans India that he considers it as an opportunity to rebuild the State rather than viewing it as a mere challenge.

While meeting industrialists, the HRD Minister shared that many of them keep asking whether there is any guarantee that the YSRCP will not come back to power again. “The responsibility rests on them. Also, the onus lies on me as the people gave a huge mandate for the NDA in the 2024 polls,” Lokesh responded.

Recalling the data centre policy introduced by the TDP in its previous tenure, Lokesh mentioned that if that had been implemented, Andhra Pradesh would have been on a global map by now. “A number of industries were wiped out of the State during the YSRCP’s rule. Back then, the industrialists were not keen on investing in AP. Now, the scenario is gradually changing as measures are taken to draw the investors back to the state. Every sector is getting streamlined one after the other. Timelines are also set,” the HRD Minister underlined.

Speaking about the Tirumala ‘laddu’ row, the HRD Minister mentioned that facts would soon be brought to light through SIT investigation. However, he wondered how come the YSRCP reposed faith in the CBI all of a sudden and demand for its intervention in the TTD laddu issue. “Why did the YSRCP not call for the CBI inquiry to investigate YS Vivekananda Reddy’s murder case?” the Minister asked.

Later, Lokesh held a meeting with the alliance MLAs and discussed the future course of action. The discussions at the meet also included a roadmap set for the development of Visakhapatnam. Narrating the current situation of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant that operates a single blast furnace, the MLCs and MLAs appealed to the HRD Minister to bring back the past glory of the VSP. “Negotiations would be made with the Centre to derive an amicable solution for the plant. Soon, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will interact with the Union Ministers and take a positive stand on it,” Lokesh added.