Date:13/05/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/05/13/stories/2005051312440400.htm

Andhra Pradesh

State pushed back by 25 years: Indrasena

Staff Reporter

Bihar overtaken in terms of lawlessness

HYDERABAD: The Bharatiya Janata Party president, N. Indrasena Reddy, has alleged that the one-year rule of the Congress Government had taken the State 25 years back in terms of development.

The BJP president, in a statement on the performance of the Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy Government here on Thursday, observed that the State had overtaken Bihar in terms of lawlessness. The Government had failed to improve the State's finances and instead borrowed Rs. 17,000 crores since it assumed power.

He accused the Government of cheating the ryots by going back on its promise of free power to the farm sector. The anti-farmer policies adopted by the Government had seen a spurt in suicides by the farmers. He charged the Government with miserably failing to ensure remunerative prices for the farm produce.

All-round failure

Mr. Reddy said the Congress Government, which had promised 2.50 lakh jobs, retrenched 7,000 Multi Purpose Extension officers, 450 Housing Board employees and 4,500 contract lecturers.

On the irrigation tenders controversy, Mr. Reddy said the Chief Minister had failed to clarify the criticism on the issue. He noted that the new excise policy saw to it that every village had a bar, while the common man suffered due to non-availability of drinking water.

He faulted the Government for taking wrong decisions pertaining to the quota for Muslims, irrigation tenders, and postgraduate admissions to the medical courses. He said the Government with one stroke had deprived the toddy-tappers of their livelihood by banning the sale of toddy in the twin cities.