Southern States - Andhra Pradesh   

YSR repeats free power promise

By Our Staff Reporter

BRAHMAMGARI MATHAM (CUDDAPAH DT.) Sept. 21. The Congress will implement its promise of free power supply to farmers in the State whenever it regains power, asserted the Congress Legislature Party leader, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.

Addressing a public meeting at Brahmamgari Matham in Mydukur constituency on Saturday, Dr. Reddy said irrigation projects of the region such as Telugu Ganga, Galeru Nagari and Handri Neeva would only be completed if the Congress bounced back to power. Congress ought to have gained power in 1999 itself, but it had to be content with 91 Assembly seats due to factors like the ``unholy alliance'' between the BJP and TDP, Kargil war and the goodwill on A.B. Vajpayee, he remarked.

The Congress had always given priority to irrigation projects, power and drought mitigation measures and it alone could provide a good Government, Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy maintained. He accused the Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, of `building castles in the air', but ignoring the present day problems.

The Telugu Ganga project envisaged to irrigate 1.67 lakh acres, for which the foundation-stone was laid in 1983, was still incomplete, he lamented. The Government had forgotten irrigation projects and the foundation-stone plaques of many projects such as Uddimadugu were missing, he alleged.

Despite the severe drought making the people's lives miserable and leading to distress sale of cattle, the State Government miserably failed in supplying subsidised seed and fodder, the CLP leader alleged. He demanded payment of crop loss compensation of about Rs. 2,500 or Rs. 3,000 per acre for groundnut and payment of crop insurance. He decried the Transco raids for recovery of power dues and seizures of farmers' motors and starters. Ridiculing the Vision 2020, he alleged that Mr. Naidu lacked the vision to develop the State.

The A.P. Congress Committee spokesman, K. Rosaiah, charged Mr. Naidu with making scores of promises to woo people on the eve of elections and forgetting them later. He questioned the fate of the Girl Child Protection Scheme. Flaying the Government for backtracking from its electoral promise to continue prohibition, he decried the fixation of targets for liquor sale in both urban and rural areas.

The Government was blindly showering promises, without planning for their implementation and the funds required, Mr. Rosaiah alleged. While the previous Congress Governments accorded priority to irrigation, power and industries, the NDA and TDP Governments have lopsided priorities, he alleged.

The Rajya Sabha member, Nandi Yellaiah, alleged that Mr. Chandrababu Naidu was only keen on enriching TDP functionaries and promoting corruption. Stating that people's enthusiasm resembled that of an election meeting and as if YSR was canvassing, he urged the people to ensure that Congress regained power. Earlier, Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy and other leaders inspected the foundation-stone plaque laid for the Telugu Ganga project in 1983. The former Minister, D.L. Ravindra Reddy, explained to the leaders that Telugu Ganga was only half complete, even after 19 years.

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