Served food to get ISB, did it for my Telugu race: Naidu
TDP leader and former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu on Friday recalled how his all-out efforts helped bring the Indian School of Business (ISB) to Hyderabad in the united AP.
“PM Modi addressed ISB’s 20th annual day celebrations. It kindled many memories to me about how I brought it to Hyderabad. The PM did not mention my name. It doesn’t matter. I did that for my Telugu race and it gives me satisfaction,” stated Naidu.
The TDP chief said when he sent an invitation to the ISB think-tank, they said they were considering Bangalore, Mumbai or Chennai, and that Hyderabad was not on their list. “I requested them over the phone to come in for breakfast and coffee. I sent my ministers to receive them at the airport. I served them meals personally. A lot of effort was made by me to get the ISB for AP.”
Naidu said the then prime minister Vajpayee came and laid the foundation stone for ISB in Hyderabad. The TDP brought hundreds of such jewels for the sake of the Telugu people, Naidu said,
“Genome Valley came to the rescue of the entire country at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. The people from even the neighbouring states were reaping rich benefits from the institutions and projects brought by the TDP to AP,” he said.
Naidu added: “When I was CM in united AP, a new direction was given to shift focus from physical labour to mind-based endeavours. This was why IT sector developed in Hyderabad in a
big way. Now, Telugu girls are going abroad and earning more than their male counterparts.”
The TDP chief said the people of residual Andhra Pradesh suffered hugely because of the bifurcation. The TDP rule came out with a 2029 Vision to develop the newly formed AP on a par with its sister state, Telangana. It was as part of this endeavour that Amaravati Capital was visualised and it was developed
into a ` 3 lakh crore asset.
"What crime had Amaravati committed that Jagan Reddy had to destroy the capital,” Naidu asked.
He said Polavaram was a boon to farmers of the whole AP but it was also crushed in the name of reverse tenders. “The TDP laid 20,000 kilometers of cement roads in villages in five years. The Jagan government did not lay even 2 kilometers of roads till now.”