Naidu Criticizes Congress for ‘Nonperformance’

RAJAHMUNDRY, India, 28 May 2006 — The Telugu Desam Party yesterday launched a blistering attack on the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in Delhi and the Congress government in the state for their “failures on all fronts” in the two years of their rule.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the three-day Mahanadu (annual convention) of the party, TDP President N. Chandrababu Naidu said Congress bigwigs were doing nothing except “japam (reciting the names) of Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.”

Accusing both the UPA and Congress governments of neglecting the farmers and the poor, he said 50 percent of the farmers in the country were going through difficult times. This was the reason for the spurt in cases of suicide by farmers in several states, including Andhra Pradesh.

“The Congress government is gifting away thousands of acres of land to private parties in the name of industrial development outside Hyderabad but they don’t have house-sites for allotment to the poor,” he alleged.

“Whether we are in the government or in the opposition, we are always with farmers and striving to secure justice to them. We are not in the government now. We are in the opposition but we will bring pressure on the government to come to the rescue of farmers,” he said.

He said the poor were in a very bad shape as the governments had done nothing for their welfare and for creating jobs for them. He urged his party workers to highlight the problems of farmers and the poor and fight for their rights at all forums, from local bodies to the assembly and Parliament.

He said the Congress government has done nothing in the rural areas. No new works or programs were taken up in the last two years. Whatever development took place, it was only in the nine-year TDP rule, Naidu claimed and listed the development works undertaken by the TDP regime.

He said Congress had made many promises in its manifesto for 2004 assembly and parliamentary elections. After becoming chief minister, Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy also made umpteen promises during his Rajiv Palle Bata, Rajiv Nagara Bata and Praja Patham tours of the state. He challenged the chief minister to spell out how many promises were fulfilled and new programs taken up.