The Hindu : YSR game for debate with CM

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 31, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

YSR game for debate with CM

By G. Narasimha Rao

NARSIPATNAM MAY 30. The leader of the Congress Legislature Party, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, has accepted the challenge of an open debate on the issue of providing free power to farmers and development of AP compared to Congress-ruled States, made by the president of the Telugu Desam and Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu.

``Mr. Naidu challenged the Congress high command to come for an open debate but we (at the State level) are enough to accept it. Let him decide the time, venue and also the judges for the open debate and we will make Mr. Naidu prove whether the State has progressed or regressed,'' Dr. Reddy told a press conference after completing his day's Praja Prasthanam in this divisional headquarters and gateway to the agency area on Friday.

Rebutting the TDP leader's criticism of the Congress at the concluding session of the Mahanadu on Thursday, Dr. Reddy wanted Mr. Naidu to keep his word of facing an open debate at least this time.

``Holding a plough and sporting a headgear at the Mahanadu is not sufficient for Mr. Naidu to show his concern for the poor and farmers but he must have the empathy for these sections and change his mindset,'' Dr. Reddy remarked.

In spite of the Chief Minister's claim of development, AP was placed 24th in the area of irrigation, 18th in housing and 21st in domestic power consumption among all States in the country. The domestic and agricultural power tariffs had been raised by 200 per cent to 300 per cent and 400 per cent to 500 per cent respectively since 1995 when Mr. Naidu took over the reins. The inefficiency and corruption rampant in the Government and the electricity companies were responsible for the steep hike in the tariff, the CLP chief alleged.

The Chief Minister's claim was that AP was better than the Congress-ruled States but the achievements of different States in the gross domestic product (GDP) between 1993 and 1999, according to the 10th Plan document presented in Parliament recently, AP achieved only 4.9 per cent against 8.2 per cent achieved by Karnataka, 8 per cent by Gujarat, 6.8 per cent by Tamil Nadu, 7.1 per cent by Maharashtra, 7.7 per cent by Rajasthan, 5.5 per cent by Kerala, 6.6 per cent by West Bengal, 5 per cent by Punjab and 5.8 per cent by Haryana, Dr. Reddy said.

Referring to projects in the irrigation and other sectors, Dr. Reddy said the Congress, if elected to power in the next Assembly elections, would take up time-bound programmes for completing the pending and proposed projects. "The Polavaram project will also be taken up in the same way,'' he said.

The Congress leader also made it clear that any agreement entered into by the present Government could be reviewed totally by its successors, while talking on the present project of diverting Godavari waters to Visakhapatnam. He recalled his demand in the Assembly in the past that the agreement entered into with Larsen and Toubro be made public and said that it was not understandable how the company was also given the charge of maintaining the project. However, Dr. Reddy would make a final statement on the project when the Visakhapatnam district leg of his padayatra concluded on June 2, after discussing the issue with local leaders.

Asked if the Congress would tackle the unemployment in the State if it gained power since it was criticising the present Government more on this than any other, he said that it was logical that the party would take up the issues it was fighting for while in Opposition. The Congress would fill the 2.5 lakh vacancies in the Government and tackle the huge debt burden by taking alternate loans and other methods.

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