Vijaywada (Andhra Pradesh) [India]: Equating the upcoming assembly election in the state to a ‘Kurukshetra’ battle, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said it will be a contest between his ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and the opposition Telugu Desam Party, led by N Chandrababu Naidu who allegedly indulged in scams on the other side.
The Chief Minister drew multiple analogies between the ruling YSRC and the Opposition parties.
“The battle of the next elections is between our government which did good for all communities on one side and our opponents on the other side who have a history of social atrocities and who inflicted regional injustice,” said Reddy, addressing a public meeting.
In a speech in Vijayawada Vahana Mitra disburse Programme, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy likened the upcoming assembly elections to a “Kurukshetra war”.
Andhra Pradesh is going to poll for assembly in 2024. Reddy’s “Kurukshetra war” analogy is likely to resonate with voters in Andhra Pradesh, as the Mahabharata is a popular epic in the state. The Kurukshetra war was a battle between good and evil, and Reddy is positioning himself as the champion of good against Naidu’s evil forces.
CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy said “In upcoming days Kurukshetra war is coming in Andhra Pradesh. The state and budget are the same only the Chief Minister’s position has changed. Then why there is no money in your accounts from previous government I don’t have gang of gangsters with me I believe in God and you,”
Reddy accused Naidu of cheating the people of the state with scams such as the skill development scam, water and tree scam, inner ring road scam, and Amaravati capital development scam. He also said that the previous government had looted money from the state, but that under his leadership, welfare schemes were being directly disbursed to beneficiaries’ accounts without any corruption.
“Former CM Chandra Babu Naidu cheated people in the state without any discrimination. Even though he cheated children. Chandra Babu is involved in scams in the state such as Skill development scam, Water and tree, Inner Ring Road, and Amaravthi capital development. The budget and state didn’t change only the position changed and beneficiaries are getting welfare schemes directly to their accounts after pressing button .
No looting and corruption are taking place in my regime,”he added.
Jagan Reddy observed that the ruling party considered its election manifesto as a holy book such as the Bhagvad Gita, Bible and Koran to fulfill 99 per cent of the promises, while the Opposition parties allegedly brought in their manifesto during polls to hoodwink people and then dump it in the dustbin.
Meanwhile, On September 17, Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has accused opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader N Chandrababu Naidu of orchestrating the multi-crore AP Skill Development Corporation scam.
Reddy’s remarks while addressing a public meeting in East Godavari on Saturday were made amidst an ongoing war of words between the State government Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) and the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) after the arrest of former Andhra chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister alleged that Naidu was involved in corruption even in the past and was caught with audio and video tapes in the ‘Cash For Vote’ scam during the Telangana MLC elections.
Reddy said, “Former CM and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu was caught with audio and video tapes in cash for vote Telangana MLC elections. No one is ready to fearlessly tell the truth because they are stakeholders in what he has stolen. When the guilt in the skill development project scam is evident, the one who said he would question is now silent and negotiated a deal for himself.”
Earlier TDP’s General Secretary Nara Lokesh on Saturday came out strongly in support of his father and former Andhra chief minister Naidu who was sent to judicial custody, and said that his father will come out clean in the alleged Skill Development Corporation scam.
He said, “The CID chief till today has not been able to establish any money trail against Naidu or the accounts of his family members. Naidu or his family members have not committed any crime in this case.”
Naidu was sent to judicial custody on September 10 for 14 days, till September 23, by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court in Vijayawada in connection with an alleged Skill Development Corporation scam.
