TDP Has Misplaced Priorities: YSR Congress Party

Strongly condemning the "undemocratic and barbaric" acts of the TDP government which it claimed had been trying to usurp power in the local bodies while ignoring the larger issues that would benefit a multitude of people, the YSR Congress Party said that the misplaced priorities would spell doom for the ruling Party.

"At a time when the future of farmers, students, employees and all sections of people is in limbo in the new State, the TDP is continuing to build a false hegemony in Nellore, Guntur and Prakasam, where it has no majority, by using raw force and barbaric methods to win numbers," party senior leader Konatala Ramakrishna told reporters on Monday.

The governance in Andhra Pradesh had gone from the frying pan and into the fire, with the TDP proving that it was worse than the previous Congress government it had taken over from, Ramakrishna said.

While there was no governance in the Kiran Kumar Reddy term, there was lawlessness in abundance after Chandrababu Naidu took over, he alleged.

"The attack on the vehicle in which our Party MLA and spokesperson were travelling shows that the TDP leadership has scant respect for democratic institutions. Be it Nellore or Prakasam, when we have the numbers, why is the Chandrababu Naidu government so keen to grab power even in the local bodies illegitimately when there are larger issues that have been knocking for immediate attention?" he asked.

"The incident taking place in the constituency represented by the State Assembly Speaker, who was unanimously elected by all parties, is a matter of concern, and the impartial nature of the office he holds becomes questionable," Ramakrishna added.

The TDP was voted to power to tackle major questions like the new capital, rebuilding of the State and solving of similar issues of such magnitude, but Chandrababu Naidu was engaging in trivial matters, that hardly helped governance, he alleged.

The issue of loan waivers for farmers was pushed to the back-burner, and their future hung in balance as they were not sure of getting fresh loans as there was no way for them to clear their old dues, even as the monsoons have set in and it was time for the Kharif season, Ramakrishna lamented. In addition, EAMCET counselling had stopped, contract workers were losing jobs, and there are problems galore everywhere.

In such a scenario, the TDP's heavy concentration on the ZPTC polls showed its dictatorial streak and the resultant incapability to tolerate a strong opposition party, he said. (INN)