Those in power in Andhra indulging in scams: Modi

Visakhapatnam/New Delhi, Jan 2 (IANS) In his first direct attack on Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said those in power in the state were indulging in scams.

Without naming Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president, Modi said they were busy outside the state for forging alliance as they knew that the ground in Andhra Pradesh had shifted and they were going to be defeated in coming elections.

During a video-conference with booth-level workers of BJP from four Lok Sabha constituencies in Andhra Pradesh, Modi said the state was looking for a change as the people were deeply angry with the present political leadership.

Stating that people have not forgotten the manner in which Congress divided Andhra Pradesh, Modi said by joining hands with Congress, those in power in the state have rubbed salt into the wounds of the people. A

"What happened to this grand alliance in Telangana? They were totally rejected by the people and same is going to happen in Andhra Pradesh," said Modi referring to the defeat of Congress-led alliance in the last month's Assembly elections in Telangana.

"Those in power in Andhra Pradesh have not remained committed to their ideology. Can we expect them to be committed to people," he asked and pointed out that N.T.Rama Rao had founded TDP to protect the interests of Telugu people and to safeguard the Telugu pride.

This was the first time that Modi launched a direct attack on the TDP chief since the latter pulled out of his government at the Centre in March last year, accusing it of not fulfilling the promise to accord special category status to the state.

The BJP leader trained the guns on Naidu even as the latter continues his tirade against him.

Claiming that the Centre remained fully committed for the welfare of people of Andhra Pradesh, Modi said those sitting in the government in the state will have to account for every single paisa.

He asked BJP workers to counter the false propaganda being spread by the state government about the Centre by communicating truth to the people.

Stating that close to 20,000 crore was released to the state as resource gap and revenue deficit funding, Modi asked where the money meant for the welfare of the people had gone.

He said Rs.1,000 crore was released for backward districts but the state government was not able to provide timely utilization certificate.

"Polavaram irrigation project was declared as national project. We have so far released around Rs.7,000 crore. The state government was keen to be the executor of the work. We also accepted that. If CAG reports are to be believed they also turned out to be inefficient in executing the work. Why are they unable to execute the project properly," he asked.

Modi said the Centre sanctioned and started 10 educational institutions of national importance including AIIMS, IIT, IIM, NIT, IIIT and Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy in the state.