Nara Lokesh should be hereafter called Konidela Lokesh

New Delhi: Senior YSR Congress Party's (YSRCP) Leader and Rajya Sabha MP Vijayasai Reddy said that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu pays attention to public issues only when elections are around the corner and that he is obsessed with getting votes.

Addressing the media after participating in a dharna to demand Special Category Status (SCS) to AP at the Gandhi statue in Parliament premises on Thursday, the Rajya Sabha member said Chandrababu had an awakening after four and a half years, two days ago, when he launched the sixth stage of Janma Bhoomi program.

"Now, after four years of starvation, he wants to distribute ration cards. After failing to complete the irrigation projects, Chandrababu is now spending thousands of crores on publicity for the projects. As on today, the government owes Rs 2,000 crores to the media. In a clear case of misuse of public funds, Chandrababu is holding Dharma Porata Deeksha meetings. How could bureaucrats allow the Chief Minister to spend thousands of crores on political meetings?"

Vijayasai Reddy said Chandrababu has surrendered to Pawan Kalyan on the pretext of forming an alliance. With the current scenario in Andhra Pradesh, it seems like it was a mutual understanding and Nara Lokesh should be hereafter called Konidela Lokesh and Pawan Kalyan as Nara Pawan Naidu, he added.

Responding to Vijayasai Reddy's question on higher education in Rajya Sabha, Union HRD Minister Dr Satyapal Singh said the Centre had spent Rs 6,143 crores on setting up the national educational institutions in the State.