Chandrababu Naidu at 40: Still going strong

Amaravati: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has said that the state government will continue its struggle for implementation of assurances in the AP State Reorganisation Act.

Replying to the Assembly resolution passed on Thursday congratulating him for completing 40 years of political life, the Chief Minister made it clear that the Centre should fulfil the bifurcation assurances and accord Special Category Status to state. The Central government should honour the sentiments of AP people.

He said that though the TDP was part of NDA-1, he did not crave for power. “During the days of AB Vajpayee’s regime, he used to take my suggestions. Abdul Kalam was my choice for the post of president. Vajpayee had waited for my decision for two days. Golden Quadrilateral was my dream. Vajpayee introduced reforms in telecom sector following my advice,” he said.

Explaining the reasons for the success of his four decades of political career, the Chief Minister said that he used to enjoy work. He thanked the people and party cadre for extending support for his success. He said that he was the senior-most leader in the country and played key role in central politics.

He said that he was the first one to introduce economic reforms and stated that technology should be used to benefit common man. He said that despite bifurcation losses, AP achieved the highest growth rate in the country with the efforts of state government.

The Chief Minister said that Polavaram project should be completed at any cost. He said that Anna canteens will be set up in one or two months and unemployment dole would be introduced soon. He said Rs 1,000 cr earmarked for this purpose in the budget. Stating that completing 40 years of political career is a rare opportunity, the Chief Minister said that he learnt discipline and commitment from NTR.