Tirupati : 'Vindictiveness' against Amar Raja draws CPI flak

Tirupati : CPI national secretary K Narayana criticised the YSRCP government for its vindictive action against Amara Raja Batteries and accused it of trying to close it under the pretext of 'causing pollution'.

Speaking to media along with party state secretary K Ramakrishna here on Saturday, the communist leader without mincing words said that it is not a suitcase company but a firm emerged as a biggest battery producer in Asia, bagging many national and international awards, providing jobs to 18,000 people directly and about 70,000 indirectly and helping backward Chittoor district grow economically. He urged the YSRCP government to spare the company from its political vendetta.

The YSRCP government failed to bring a single major industry during its two year tenure but drove away even the existing industries one by one, he said, demanding the government to stop its witchhunting on Amara Raja.

He further said that it was deplorable on the part of YSRCP leaders one after another making reckless comments against the Amar Raja issue and added that every country, including the communist China is doing their best to woo industries and get investments.

Anticipating reprisal from YSRCP leaders for attacking the government on Amara Raja issue, he said, "I may be branded as a Kamma for supporting Amara Raja but I did not mind such tagging of caste to me for a good cause.

We supported YS Rajasekhara Reddy to dislodge TDP," he said adding that everyone in the district, including YSRCP senior leaders Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy and Bhumana Karunakar Reddy, knows what he was and his party all along has been working above caste lines.

It is not only Amara Raja on the lookout for a safe place, the Reliance had already left from here while many more which signed MoUs to invest in the state were also going back, he pointed out.

Slamming the YSRCP government for remaining silent on Vizag steel plant privatisation, he said why it is not ready to take all party delegation on the issue to Prime Minister Narendra Modi adding that the fact is the state government is hand in glove with the Centre in privatising the steel plant.

On the Election Commission of India seeking political parties' view on the conduct of byelections, Narayana said it is a drama being played by the Modi government through the ECI. The BJP government was baffled at its fast declining popularity playing such games, he added.

CPI state secretary Ramakrishna demanded the government to release a white paper on the debt burden. He said that the debts which were Rs 96,000 crore after the state was divided (AP share) now crossed Rs 4 lakh while the government had to borrow another Rs 50,000 crore to pay salaries and pension for the coming six months.

Despite such huge borrowings, he said no development of roads, infrastructure facilities and industries was taking place in the state.

He said on the TIDCO houses issue, CPI along with other parties would step up the stir to press the government to immediately handover the houses to the beneficiaries.

CPI state secretariat member P Haranatha Reddy, district secretary Rama Naidu, city secretary Viswanatham were present.