The Hindu : CM doubts viability of Congress promise

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 12, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

CM doubts viability of Congress promise

By Our Correspondent

MAHABUBNAGAR, FEB. 11. The Chief Minister and Telugu Desam supreme, N.Chandrababu Naidu, reiterated that the Congress is trying to hoodwink the people of the State with its impractical promise of providing free power to the farm sector.

Mr. Naidu was addressing an impressive public meeting at the Municipal Grounds here on Wednesday after hoisting the party flag at the Padmavathi Colony as part of the "Janda Panduga" and led an impressive cycle rally for about 3 km. Mr Naidu asked how the State Congress leaders could provide free power to farmers when it is not being implemented in any State where the party is in power.

Ensuring power supply for the standing crops, he said that he would not allow a single acre of crop to dry up due to non-supply of power.

"If need be we will purchase power from other states and save the crops," he said. The Chief Minister warned Transco officials that action would be initiated against them if they failed to supply power to farmers.

Lashing out at the naxalites, Mr Chandrababu Naidu said that they were pointing their guns at TDP and BJP leaders for pleading with them that they eschew the path of violence and destruction. He alleged that the Congress leaders were making merry when the naxalites were killing the workers of the TDP and BJP.

Brushing aside the suggestion of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti on increasing the height of the Alamatti dam to release water to Mahabubnagar district, Mr Chandrababu Naidu said that the past experience with the Karnataka Government suggests had shown that Karnataka would never release water to Mahabubnagar or any other district of Andhra Pradesh even if it impounds water to the full reservoir level in Alamatti.

He termed Left parties as opportunists for trying to forge an alliance with the TRS, which was trying to bifurcate the State, contrary to the Left parties' policy of `Visalandhra.'

Hundreds of people greeted him along the road from the Padmavathi Colony where he led a cycle rally of party workers to Town Hall ground. Buses coming into the town were stopped on the outskirts of the town from about 10 am to 2.30 pm till the Chief Minister left the town.

The Panchayat Raj Minsiter, N.Janardhan Reddy, Law Minister, P.Chandrashekar, district party affairs incharge, Alladi Raj Kumar, and district TDP president, P.Monohar, also spoke. Telugu Desam MPs Ravula Chandrashekar Reddy and Rumandla Ramachandraiah, Zilla Parishad chairperson, K.Seetha Dayakar Reddy, and former legislators, K.Dayakar Reddy, Y.Yella Reddy, M.Chandrashekar, B.Narsimulu, K.Madhusudhan Rao, DCMS Chairman, Goverdhan Yadav, and others participated.

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