The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : ‘Grand alliance’ will have no impact on Congress: Minister

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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

‘Grand alliance’ will have no impact on Congress: Minister

Correspondent

“Sankranti Puraskars” presented to 21 best farmers and 11 best officials
TDP flayed for neglecting farm and allied departments

VIZIANAGARAM: Minister for Animal Husbandry M. Buddha Prasad felt that the grand alliance of TDP, Left parties and Telengana Rashtra Samiti in the State would have no impact on the Congress in the ensuing elections as the parties have lost people’s faith.

Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, Mr. Prasad said the parties that had now come together were bitter critics of one another in the past. People would not believe such parties as their main aim was to defeat the Congress rather than working for the uplift of downtrodden, he said and added that Mr. Chandrababu Naidu who usurped power in 1995 diluted the welfare schemes and ignored the land reforms that were a priority issue of the Left parties. Though Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy government distributed lands to the poor the Left parties snapped ties with it. Claiming that the welfare schemes of the Congress alone would vote the party back to power, Mr. Prasad said that the contest would be between the Congress and the ‘grand alliance’. The Praja Rajyam Party already lost the ground and its turnaround depends on support it garners in the next couple of months.

Earlier, the Minister, who participated in the presentation of “Sankranti Puraskars” to 21 best farmers and 11 best officials at Collector’s Auditorium, reeling out the good work done by the Rajasekhara Reddy Government for the benefit of farmers, said that the government had sanctioned 100 veterinary hospitals keeping in view the poor medical aid for animals in villages. Stating that 500 posts of veterinary doctors were vacant in the State, he said that this was because there were only 175 seats in all the three Veterinary Colleges. Now, the government had opened two more colleges in Telengana and Rayalaseema regions and nine polytechnics elsewhere. This would possibly ease the position in the near future. He criticised the TDP Government for neglecting agriculture and its allied departments and said that the present government allocated Rs.579 crores in the Budget for Animal Husbandry Department against Rs.160 crores during 2003-04. He said that under Pasu Kranti programme 50,000 more milch cattle would be supplied to SC/ST/BCs.

Lok Sabha member Botcha Jhansi Lakshmi, DCC president and MLA P. Sambasiva Raju and others spoke. Collector G. Ram Narayana Reddy presided over the meeting.

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