Sajjala wants Naidu to spell out his stance

Vijayawada: In a scathing attack on TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu, YSRCP general secretary and advisor to government (public affairs) Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy dared him to make his stand clear on why he is opposing decentralisation and advocating Amaravati as the single capital for the state.

Addressing the media at the party central office in Tadepalli on Saturday, he strongly objected to the 'abusive rhetoric' used by Naidu during his Kurnool district tour without any provocation and demanded that he explain his stand on Kurnool as judicial capital. Decentralisation is our policy and we could articulate it showing valid reasons, he said, adding that Chandrababu has no basis to justify why administration and development should be concentrated in one region. Abusing people, officials and police shows his frustration levels, he said.

Recalling the Sri Krishna Committee Report which warned of the dangerous consequences of centralisation and the Sribagh Pact that aimed at decentralisation for the balanced development of all the regions, Ramakrishna Reddy said YSRCP government has been advocating the policy of decentralisation as it strongly believes in the principles of natural justice and development of all regions equally.

Centralisation of development and accumulation of wealth at a single place leads to separatist agitations and hence, the policy of decentralisation is fully justified, he asserted.

Why you are unable to clarify the reasons that prompted you to advocate centralisation, the YSRCP leader questioned Naidu. "Is it because farmers just gave their land to set up the capital at the most inconvenient place and you failed to make lakhs of crores of rupees from your ulterior plans," he asked, adding that the TDP chief just cheated the farmers for his selfish ends. While Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy is going ahead with his mature policies to bring about transformation in the lives of all segments of people including farmers, Naidu is only just day-dreaming about Amaravati as the single capital, he said.