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Dad is No. 1; there is no No. 2 in govt or party, says Lokesh
There is no number two in the government and in the TDP, says Nara Lokesh, IT and panchayat raj minister and son of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. “In fact, there is nobody to match our leader (Chandrababu) in our party in the way he thinks of and works for people, ” he said in an interview with The Hans India on Thursday.
Amaravati: There is no number two in the government and in the TDP, says Nara Lokesh, IT and panchayat raj minister and son of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. “In fact, there is nobody to match our leader (Chandrababu) in our party in the way he thinks of and works for people, ” he said in an interview with The Hans India on Thursday.
Even as a Group of Ministers (GoM), including Lokesh, was constituted to liaise with Naidu and run administration when the latter was away on a foreign visit, he said the government is guided by the party politburo. He evaded a direct reply on his succeeding his father as CM. “After all, this question will not arise since our leader is delivering able and stable administration. If my choice is to be considered, it will be decided by the Chief Minister and the party,” he quipped.
Lokesh expressed his intentions to take a plunge into direct elections in 2019. “In fact, I wanted to remain outside of the government until the 2019 general elections. But I had to accept the party’s offer for MLC post and subsequently a Cabinet berth under pressures from seniors like finance minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu and Deputy Chief Minister K E Krishnamurthy,” he said.
He went soft on dynastic politics, saying people are not ready to accept mere legacy. At the same time, denying fair play to anyone on ground of his representing a particular family ruling in politics also amounts to negating the principle of natural justice, he added.
He brushed aside reports over the perceived existential problems faced by TDP in Telangana after the exit of its state party working president A Revanth Reddy. “ Our party is endowed with strong cadres down the line in Telangana. Leaders do come and go. Defection of leaders will only make way for infusion of fresh blood into the leadership echelons,” he asserted.
Lokesh squarely blamed the YSRCP for paralysing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the state. Funds stopped flowing from the Centre following the “baseless” complaints from the YSRCP.
After sustained persuasions from the state government, the Centre cleared Rs 350 out of Rs 685 crore due to be sanctioned under the scheme, he explained. The IT minister trained guns against YSRCP leader YS Jaganmohan Reddy for his decision to boycott the Assembly session scheduled from November 10.
After all, it is a people’s mandate given to Jagan to play a true opposition leader in the Assembly. Staying away from the session means is failing to deliver the people’s mandate, he said.
By: Sambasiva Rao M
