Naidu calls for renewed struggle to 'reconstruct AP'

Vijayawada: As the TDP turns 41 (on Tuesday), its national president N Chandrababu Naidu extended warm greetings to the Telugus and called for a renewed struggle for the 'reconstruction of Andhra Pradesh'.

He recalled how NT Rama Rao launched the TDP exactly on this day 40 years ago and showed the power of Telugu self-respect to the whole world. Now that the motherland was facing an existential threat under the present regime, everyone had a duty to fight with self-confidence to regain 'Telugu pride'.

In a video address to the Telugu NRIs, the TDP chief lauded the Telugu diaspora for taking an active part in Janmabhoomi rural development works for the construction of motherland. As of now, the state had fallen into the hands of 'forces of destruction'. The former chief minister said, in its long journey, the TDP had weathered and overcome many obstacles. NTR sowed a strong foundation for the party's pro-poor welfare agenda. He ushered in bold reforms by cancelling the Patel-Patwari system to remove authoritarianism and introduced the mandalika system for reaching out to people.

The Rs 2 kg rice scheme stood as an ideal model for food security for the whole country. Naidu asserted that in the united AP, the TDP laid the foundation for a vibrant knowledge economy by developing infrastructure projects in IT and other sectors. Huge wealth creation was enabled under its rule. Chandrababu Naidu said after the 2014 bifurcation, the TDP government came out with a grand plan to create new opportunities for the AP people by developing Amaravati on the lines of Hyderabad. However, the present government stalled Amaravati and also chased away industries, he said.