Amaravati, Feb 5 (IANS): Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and YSR Congress Party president Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday asked party leaders to expose Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for backtracking on his election promises.
On his return from a two-week tour of London, he held a key meeting with senior party leaders at his office.
The meeting discussed the recent political developments in the state and Chandrababu Naidu’s latest statement.
This was the first key party meeting chaired by Jagan Mohan Reddy following the resignation of his close aide Vijayasai Reddy, who was YSRCP general secretary and parliamentary party leader.
The former chief minister felt that Chandrababu Naidu’s statements have once again exposed his stance on implementing election promises. He pointed out that despite the grand pre-election publicity around the “Super Six” promises, Chandrababu Naidu has now backtracked, citing various excuses to mislead the public.
Jagan emphasised the need to take this issue to the people, highlighting how Naidu is failing to fulfil his commitments while simultaneously burdening them with increased electricity charges.
He instructed party leaders to expose Chandrababu Naidu’s deceptive tactics more aggressively and to remain actively engaged with the public to create awareness. He also noted that while Naidu claims to be an expert in wealth creation, his governance has relied solely on borrowing, which must be brought to the public’s attention.
The meeting also touched upon the ongoing ‘fee struggle’, which was postponed due to pending approval from the Election Commission.
Jagan condemned the state government’s move to privatize new medical colleges and reduce medical seats, calling it a severe blow to poor students. He criticised Chandrababu Naidu’s letter to the central government opposing the allocation of new medical seats to the state, despite the central government’s plan to add 75,000 medical seats across the country over the next five years.
Jagan instructed party leaders to include this issue in the ongoing ‘fee struggle’ and expose Chandrababu Naidu’s discriminatory stance against poor students.
Discussions also covered pension cuts, halted welfare schemes, and the suspension of Aarogyasri, which have severely impacted the poor and middle-class citizens. Party leaders presented ground-level reports, stating that the nine-month coalition government has been blatantly anti-poor, causing widespread distress among the people.
The leaders deliberated on the malpractices in municipal by-elections, stating that the ruling alliance indulged in unprecedented violations to secure victories, even in places where they lacked numerical strength. They noted that the public is closely observing these actions and will respond appropriately when the time comes.
Senior leaders present at the meeting included Party State Coordinator Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, former ministers Botsa Satyanarayana, Budi Mutyala Naidu, Jogi Ramesh and Kurusala Kannababu.