
The ₹450-crore construction in Rushikonda by the YSRCP government became a political weapon for the TDP–Jana Sena combine to target Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
They accused the YSRCP of misusing taxpayers’ money for Jagan’s personal convenience.
This campaign against the Rushikonda building meant to serve as the Chief Minister’s camp office served the TDP-Jana Sena well in the election.
Now that Chandrababu Naidu is back in power, one might have expected him to learn from his past mistakes and practice some financial restraint. But the reality is quite the opposite.
The TDP government has sanctioned ₹212 crore for the construction of a Raj Bhavan in Amaravati.
An office for the Chief Minister is also being planned opposite the Raj Bhavan, though there are no official cost estimates yet - with speculation that it could touch ₹500 crore.
The justification given by the TDP has raised eyebrows.
“Tomorrow, when Andhra Pradesh is surplus with funds and Amaravati becomes a world-class capital, we cannot have modest buildings now and demolish them later. Hence, it is better to have lavish constructions now itself,” the party said.
When Andhra Pradesh faced a severe financial deficit post-bifurcation, instead of utilising existing cities like Visakhapatnam, Tirupati or Vijayawada as the state capital, Chandrababu Naidu chose to build a capital city from scratch - a mega real estate venture widely viewed as a move to enrich his community for generations.
Having criticised Jagan for the ₹450-crore construction in Rushikonda, Chandrababu Naidu is now ready to spend big again. The ₹212-crore Raj Bhavan project is just the beginning.