Houses witnesses heated exchange between TDP, BJP members on funds

Amaravati: War of words took place between the ruling TDP and BJP members in Assembly on Friday during a short discussion on status of national educational institutions as mentioned in AP Reorganisation Act.

TDP MLA K Ravi Kumar said that the Centre did not give funds to the national educational institutions by saying detailed project reports (DPRs) were not submitted by the State government. 

“In fact, the State government has sent DPRs and allotted hundreds of acres of sites. But the Centre is escaping from giving funds,” he alleged. When TDP MLA Sravan Kumar asked if the Prime Minister was giving money to AP from his pocket, BJP floor leader Vishnukumar Raju, MLAs A Satyanarayana and P Manikyala Rao strongly objected to the comments. Vishnukumar Raju pointed out that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu did not allot his own lands to the educational institutions.

When the TDP MLAs said that people in the country know very well how the BJP won elections in eastern states, the BJP MLAs shouted saying that they also knew how TDP won in Nandyal by-election. 

The TDP MLAs said the Centre could not dictate terms to Andhra Pradesh government. Giving reply on the discussion, Minister for Human Resources Development Ganta Srinivasa Rao said that 17 national educational institutions needed to be sanctioned to the State as per AP Reorganisation Act.

Of these, five institutions were sanctioned by the Centre in 2015 and classes were started in those institutions.  “But, none of the institutions has been given permanent faculty and infrastructure. All the five are being run in private campuses.

The irony is IIT Kurnool is being run in Kanchipuram of Tamil Nadu,” he said. The Minister said students were not choosing these institutions during counselling as there are no facilities and faculty. He further said the state government allotted 3,500 acres to these educational institutions.

BJP floor leader Vishnukumar Raju said the Centre would complete the construction of educational institutions in four years. Satyanarayana said the Centre had already released some funds to the institutions.