TDP more committed to decentralisation: Lokesh

Singanamala (Anantapur dist): TDP national general secretary Nara Lokesh on Sunday said his father and former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is more committed for decentralised development than the YSRCP Government, which he alleged is only trying to whip up regional passions by talking about trifurcation of the capital.

During an interaction with professionals here as part of his Statewide padayatra, he said Naidu, the national president of TDP during his tenure as Chief Minister from 2014-19 had worked hard for decentralisation of development. “Visakhapatnam was projected as the centre for Information Technology (IT) while Rayalaseema was projected as the major base for automobile and electronic industry. Aquaculture was promoted in both the Godavari districts.”

Observing that the average revenue of the people of Anantapur district had gone up to Rs 30,000 after Kia Motors set up its unit, Lokesh said that Chandrababu Naidu had built a beautiful capital, Amaravati. “But we have never given any kind of publicity for any of these measures,” he observed.

The TDP leader felt that Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy came to power by cheating the people with false promises. “It has been proved on the floor of Parliament that Andhra Pradesh is far behind all the States in IT exports and the State has moved backward by 30 years,” he alleged.