Bypoll results prove strong anti-incumbency against BJP

Amaravati: Finance minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu said the byelection results on Thursday proved the existence of strong anti-incumbency sentiment against BJP across the country. He said people gave a befitting reply to the BJP for its anti-people policies pursued in the last four years of ruling.

In a release on Thursday, the finance minister said the byelection results were reflecting the mood of the nation and the debacle of BJP would be complete in the 2019 general elections. “The Narendra Modi’s period will be over in just five years,” he said.

The minister said the BJP did not introspect even though the party was suffering continuous defeats in recent elections in several states. “Instead of introspection, the BJP is trying to hoodwink the people by spreading lies,” he said. 

The finance minister said the Centre was intentionally ignoring the infrastructure projects in Andhra Pradesh such Visakhapatnam-Chennai industrial corridor and Bangalore-Chennai industrial corridor while it was funding Dholera city in Gujarat stating that it is part of Delhi-Mumbai corridor. 

But the Centre had given only Rs 1,500 crore to capital city construction. The Centre did not take up the costal economic zone in AP which has 50,000 employment potential. “It reflects the clear discrimination by the BJP government in giving funds to various states. This is not cooperative federalism,” he said.

Yanamala also condemned the comments of Union Minister Jitendra Singh who said the NDA-1 government did not give special category status to three new states then. “This is clearly misleading the people. The NDA-1 government gave special category status for Uttaranchal state,” Yanamala said.

He alleged that the BJP was taking revenge on Andhra Pradesh as the TDP came out from NDA government. “We waited four years keeping the interests of Andhra Pradesh in mind. But the BJP government did nothing to the state which forced the TDP to quit the alliance. Instead of fulfilling its promises, the BJP wants to take revenge on Andhra Pradesh now,” he said.

He also said the BJP was using YSR Congress and the Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan as instrumental to criticise the TDP government and it was provoking Ramana Deekshitulu, the former chief priest of TTD. “If the BJP continues the same political tactics, the people will teach a lesson in the next general elections,” he said.