Andhra Pradesh - Tirupati   

Gali defends YSR on World Bank loans

Special Correspondent

`There is a distinct difference in borrowings' `There is a distinct difference in borrowings'

TIRUPATI: Senior Congress leader and party's official spokesperson, Gali Muddukrishnama Naidu, on Thursday put up a strong defence in favour of the Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, on the World Bank loan package.

He also took cudgels against the former Chief Minister and TDP chief, N. Chandrababu Naidu, for crying hoarse about the loan. "It is strange that of all the people Mr. Chandrababu Naidu who, perhaps, created a record for a Chief Minister taking a whopping Rs.48,000-crore loan from the World Bank and its allied lending agencies is now crying wolf about it," the leader told media persons here.

Holding a strong brief for Dr. Reddy, he laboured hard to show that there was a distinct difference between the borrowings of Mr. Naidu and Dr. Reddy. While Mr. Naidu did not use even a rupee on creation of permanent assets, Dr. Reddy was borrowing specifically for the purpose of creating permanent assets such as Rs.3,000 crores for irrigation projects, Rs.1,600 crores for roads and buildings and Rs.1,300 crores for drinking water schemes.

Barring Rs.1,600 crores being borrowed for structural adjustments, rest of it was for creation of assets, he said. He regretted that Yanamala Ramakrishnudu who held the finance portfolio was playing to the gallery. On the reported `letter' wherein the Government was reported to have expressed consent to accept World Bank conditionalities, the Congress leader denied that there was any mention in the letter about the terms.

Unfair demand

Another issue on which he trained guns against Mr. Naidu was his oft-repeated demand for keeping the Panchayat Raj Minister, J.C. Diwakar Reddy, and the Anantapur SP off the Penugonda byelection.

Taking an objection to the demand by TDPP leader, Yerran Naidu, the Congress leader asserted that Mr. Diwakar Reddy had a right to stay in the constituency as he hailed from the district.

He sought to know whether Mr. Naidu withdrew district Ministers whenever there were byelections during his rule.

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