TDP promises revival of Anna canteens in civic poll manifesto

Mangalagiri: TDP national general secretary and MLC Nara Lokesh on Friday asserted that the ruling YSRCP leaders had no moral right to ask for votes in the municipal elections as the Jagan Mohan Reddy government ignored the roads, drains, drinking water, health and housing needs of the people in towns and cities.

Lokesh released his party manifesto at the party Central office here and listed the main features. He appealed to the people to realise what damage the YSRCP had done to the state, after it was given just one chance in the 2019 elections.

Addressing the media conference at the party headquarters, Lokesh asserted that they had framed their manifesto after doing a three-month-long survey to understand the expectations of urban people. The manifesto contained 10 promises beginning with the TDP commitment to reopening Anna canteens to provide food to the poor workers at just Rs 5 in all towns and cities. He further asserted that their party would cut old taxes by 50 per cent in order to provide a relief to the people from the rising burdens in the wake of price rise. The other promises included clean towns and clean drinking water. Under the TDP rule, three to four cities of AP used to figure in the top 10 list at the national level in getting awards. But now, there was no cleanliness even in Visakhapatnam with garbage lifting also not being taken up properly. The scene was no different in Vijayawada.

Lokesh recalled how water contamination caused a major health crisis in Eluru, the hometown of the health minister. Lokesh dismissed Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy as just an advisor who was drawing his salary from the public funds and who had no right to criticise the TDP. He further said: "I stand by my words. I just called Jagan Reddy a coward. He is just sitting in his Tadepalli palace and not coming out to solve people's problems. We did not threaten to hold him by the collar or shoot him down in the middle of the road."