‘Jagan should explain to people his failures during Memantha Siddham’
People want to know the rationale behind undertaking caste census ahead of polls and not making the report public, says Kolanukonda Shivaji in an open letter to the Chief Minister
Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) vicepresident Kolanukonda Shivaji has demanded that Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who has embarked on a Statewide bus yatra “Memantha Siddham” as part of his election campaign, explain to the people about the “failure of his government” on the key issues.
In an open letter addressed to Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the Congress leader said people wanted to know the rationale behind undertaking the caste census in the State ahead of the elections, and why the report had not been made public.
Pointing to the Andhra Pradesh High Court verdict on the GroupI services conducted by the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC), Mr.
Shivaji said the entire episode “reeked of largescale corruption” in the selection of candidates. “The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) has miserably failed to provide jobs to the youth. The Mega DSC promised to aspiring teachers was a farce and a big letdown,” he said.
Recalling Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s promise in the runup to the elections in 2019 that he would mount pressure on the Centre to grant Special Category Status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh if people voted for him, Mr. Shivaji said,”The YSRCP have more than 30 representatives in both the Houses of Parliament. But Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy has not done anything to achieve the SCS status for the State.”
In contrast to the promise to implement total prohibition in a phased manner, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s government hiked liquor prices, created new brands and made a huge money in the absence of a foolproof and transparent mechanism in the excise policy, the Congress leader said. “Leave alone banning liquor, the YSRCP government has transformed the State into the drug capital of India,” he alleged.
Mr. Shivaji alleged that sand mafia and land grabbing menace was at its peak under the YSRCP rule. “Dalits and other backward sections do not have protection. Antisocial elements, with the tacit support of the ruling party leaders, are resorting to total lawlessness. The State has slipped into anarchy,” he said.
Mr. Shivaji wanted the Chief Minister to give reasons to the people as to why they should vote for the YSRCP.
“Is it because the YSRCP government has pushed Andhra Pradesh into bankruptcy, its failure to complete Polavaram project, failure to build a proper capital of the State in the last five years or for remaining silent to the Centre’s plan to privatise the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant?”
He demanded that the Chief Minister spell out his party’s stand on the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC), proposed to be implemented by the Central government.