Andhra Pradesh

Naidu seeks vote for development

By Our Staff Reporter

NELLORE, APRIL 3. The Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, has said that people will always vote for "development.''

Addressing a largely attended public meeting at the sports stadium on Saturday, in connection with the launch of the election campaign by the Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee, Mr. Naidu said though the Congress took credit for providing stable governments in its 50-year rule, it had brought down a democratically elected Government (headed by N.T. Rama Rao) in Andhra Pradesh, and reminded that people again brought back NTR as Chief Minister. He said the Prime Minister was keen on developing the country and said during the Kargil war, Mr. Vajpayee saw to it that the country's armed forces won and thanks to his "sports diplomacy,'' the otherwise strained relations between India and Pakistan were brought back to normal. About Nellore, he acknowledged the help rendered by the Central Government with regard to laying of roads under the National Highway Development Programme. Also, the Central Government had been initiating the concept of river linkage to solve the problem of water shortage.

The Chief Minister made a reference to the huge foreign exchange reserves of $ 100 billions. It was the wish of the Prime Minister that the country should forge ahead during the next 20 years and by 2040, it should be one of the super powers, Mr. Naidu said.

The Chief Minister took the opportunity to thank Mr. Vajpayee for providing 55 lakh tonnes of rice valued at Rs. 5,500 crores under the Food-for work programme for the State and was hopeful that the BJP-TDP combine would win all 42 Lok Sabha seats. He said he had always stood with people in sharing their difficulties and referred to the role of women in the State in respect of rural development. "We will fight for justice of women,'' Mr. Naidu said. He took the opportunity to ridicule the oft- repeated promise of the Congress on free power supply and wanted to know why the party was not implementing the same in party-ruled States. He asserted that what was required was "quality power,'' and not "free power.'' Mr. Naidu ridiculed the alliances among Opposition parties and alleged that the Congress had no respect for people.

In an indirect reference to the former Chief Minister, N. Janardhana Reddy, who hailed from Nellore district, he pointed as to how he had been changing constituencies from the Venkatagiri Assembly seat (Nellore district) to the Bapatla and Narasaraopet Lok Sabha seats of Guntur district and now again opted for Visakhapatnam LS seat.

The BJP president, M. Venkaiah Naidu, reiterated that the only agenda of the National Democratic Alliance Government was development. He asserted that it was the BJP which was winning, the NDA which was coming and Vajpayee who was going to be the Prime Minister again. He described the presence of the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister at Nellore as a "rare opportunity.''

The Information Minister, S. Chandramohan Reddy, welcomed. The Union Minister of State for Urban Development, B. Dattatreya, the State BJP president, N. Indrasena Reddy, and all contesting candidates were present.

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