It seems chief minister Chandrababu Naidu's focus on the capital city is sowing seeds of discontent among TDP leaders in Rayalaseema and north coastal districts.
On Saturday, deputy chief minister KE Krishnamurthy had accused Naidu of ignoring their demands just because the party did not win more than three seats in the assembly elections in Kurnool.
“How are we responsible for the party's debacle in Kurnool?“ he asked at a mini-mahanadu meeting, adding that the CM was focusing on West Godavari as the TDP won all the seats there.
Meanwhile, Pathivada Narayana Swamy a senior leader from Vizianagaram, also lashed out at the government's failure to set up a medical college in the district.
“We promised the people that they will get a government medical college as Vizianagaram is a backward district. How can you go back on this issue and encourage private people to open the college?“ he asked at another mini-mahanadu meeting in Vizianagaram on Sunday.
Stung by these outbursts, in-charge minister Palla Raghunatha Reddy said that senior leaders should not make adverse remarks at public fo rums and instead apprise the chief minister abou their grievances.
According to party insiders, many leaders from the north coastal AP and Rayalaseema are unhappy over the centraliza tion of develop ment programmes. Though Rayalaseema advocates have been demanding the setting up of a high court in Kurnool, the chief minister has made it clear that it would be located in the capital city. When the Centre granted an agriculture university, the government again zoomed in on Guntur.
“The agriculture research station at Nandyal (Kurnool) has produced several revolutionary varieties of paddy seeds and has been a seed hub for groundnut and cotton. What is the logic behind granting the agriculture university to the Guntur research station?“ asked Ramachandra Reddy, a veteran agriculture scientist.
Leaders from Prakasam district, meanwhile, are upset at not bagging the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
“We came to know the foundation stone laying ceremony of AIIMS was put off as the district administration failed to allocate 200 acres near Mangalagiri. Why could not the government consider Prakasam district for location of such a project despite knowing that hundreds of acres of government land is available here?“ asked R Ramakrishna, Prakasam district development forum leader.
Source: TimesOfIndia
