The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Goud locks horns with YSR

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Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Goud locks horns with YSR

Special Correspondent

Charges him with pushing a slew of projects for his Pulivendula constituency

YSR has no moral right to continue in the post: Goud
‘All powers exercised by an extra constitutional advisor’

HYDERABAD: The second day’s debate on no confidence motion against the Congress Government in the State Assembly meandered into a lack lustre affair on Tuesday barring an occasional noisy exchange between the ruling and the main Opposition Telugu Desam Party members.

Continuing the Opposition attack, Telugu Desam Legislature Party Deputy Leader, T. Devender Goud, locked horns with Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy charging him with pushing hard Pothireddypadu head regulator and a slew of projects costing Rs. 8,000 crore for his Pulivendula constituency and his Idupulapaya estate.

“By his actions like resorting to inter-basin transfer of river water from Krishna to Pennar, Dr. Reddy has violated his constitutional oath of acting without any fear or favour. He has reduced the Government as if it existed only for his constituency, a district, one region and one section. He has no moral right to continue in his post,” he said.

Intervening, the Chief Minister clarified that the expansion of the Pothireddypadu regulator’s capacity to 44,000 cusecs was based on flood waters and did not harm the interests of other regions. Pulivendula constituency was not the only beneficiary but the entire Telugu Ganga ayacut, he said and wanted Leader of the Opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu to spell out his stand on Pothireddypadu.

Comprehensive policy

Avoiding a direct response, Mr. Naidu merely said a comprehensive river water policy was the only answer.

Dr. Reddy said his Government was spending more on Telangana allocating 52 per cent of the irrigation budget on the region.

Not just Kadapa but districts like Anantapur got priority and taunted TDP member P. Keshav to leave the party that did nothing for his district.

Mr. Goud said Dr. Reddy’s four-year- rule was marked by systematic destruction of democratic norms and institutions.

His comment that Dr. Reddy was acting in a dictatorial manner and all the powers were exercised by an “extra constitutional” advisor to the Chief Minister and not by the Ministers, triggered protests from them.

Referring to the Obulapuram iron ore mining and galaxy granite mining projects, he wondered why the State was so helpless in not extracting maximum revenue from them.

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