In a deft counter-attack, senior TDP leader Payyavula Keshav on Monday demanded that the Congress party provide proof for its oft-repeated charge, that his party president N Chandrababu Naidu had stated that the investment in agriculture was a waste.
Talking to media persons at NTR Trust Bhavan, Payyavula said that the allegation, that Naidu had described investment in agriculture as a waste, was an attempt to mislead the people. He said that the onus was on the Congress to prove that Naidu had made such a statement.
Payyavula stated that the former chief minister, the late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, and the present chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, had made baseless allegations against Naidu.
He challenged the Congress leaders in general, and the CM in particular, to prove the allegations against Naidu by providing substantial evidence.
The senior TDP leader pointed out that Naidu had allotted a lion's share of funds in the state budget to the agriculture sector during his stint, so that farmers would reap in profits.
Payyavula also expressed doubts on the hunger strike taken up by Congress MPs, demanding the lifting of police cases against students, by questioning the rationale behind the protest. He stated that the MPs should have observed this fast in New Delhi to mount pressure on centre to introduce a bill on the Telangana statehood.