Sajjala flays TDP for launching false campaign against govt

Amaravati: Government Advisor (Public Affairs) Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy has slammed TDP leader Nara Lokesh for spreading false news on the hike of LPG price in order to create panic among the people and stated that Lokesh is very much ignorant and doesn't even know that LPG falls under the jurisdiction of the Central government.

Addressing a press conference on Sunday, he said that the Opposition leaders were intentionally trying to defame the government and create confusion among the people by spreading fabricated news through the TDP-friendly media.

He clarified that GO 265 mentions only about 10 per cent VAT hike on natural gas but not LPG, as it is under the purview of the Union government.

The State government has taken the decision to increase VAT, due to the large impact of Covid-19 on the State revenue, which has dipped to a great extent. He recalled that Chandrababu Naidu left a debt of Rs 3.60 lakh crore and stated that Naidu could have looted even more in the name Covid pandemic.

On the Antarvedi temple incident, Ramakrishna Reddy said that Naidu is a litigant, who always thrives for public attention and thus politicises minor issues to get political mileage. He clarified that there was no need for YSRCP to create such incidents and said that TDP leaders have an intention to distract the public from government initiatives and also have a history of setting train on fire at Tuni, burning down the banana plantations at Amaravati and the like.

While Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is implementing welfare schemes to benefit downtrodden and weaker sections of the society, Chandrababu Naidu schemes were aimed at diverting funds to benefit his benamis.

The State government had credited about Rs 67,000 crore directly into the accounts of the beneficiaries of various welfare schemes without leaving any scope for corruption. He asserted that the State government didn't renege on the welfare initiatives during the pandemic, instead provided the assistance much earlier than the actual deadline.

The State was effectively implementing the Covid containment measures by taking up massive screening for early identification of the virus and has set an example to other States by following the best practices during Covid pandemic and also for prioritising welfare initiatives during the crisis.

He stated that people have not forgotten the misrule and looting of public money, without even sparing the kiddy banks of children in the name of Amaravati by TDP chief.