Tadepalli, July 15: YSR Congress Party General Secretary Gadikota Srikanth Reddy said the coalition government had resorted to personal attacks because it was unable to answer the Opposition’s questions on issues affecting the people. Addressing the media at the YSRCP central office in Tadepalli, he said Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Minister Nara Lokesh and coalition leaders were avoiding a factual debate and instead engaging in personal abuse. He attributed this to the overwhelming public response received by Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy during his visits across the State and challenged the coalition to an open debate based on facts.
Srikanth Reddy said Chandrababu was making false claims about irrigation projects despite not completing a single major project during his tenure. He stated that Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy transformed projects such as Veligonda, Polavaram and Handri-Neeva through substantial funding and execution, while Chandrababu was attempting to claim credit for works carried out by previous governments. He also recalled the contributions of leaders behind projects such as Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam, saying history could not be rewritten through political speeches.
He further stated that deteriorating law and order, attacks on Dalits and women, rising crimes and incidents of people resorting to suicide after recording selfie videos due to police harassment reflected the government’s failures. According to him, these issues were being overshadowed by personal attacks and diversionary politics.
Referring to the Vivekananda Reddy murder case, Srikanth Reddy said the coalition continued to spread misinformation instead of allowing the judicial process to establish the facts. He also said even representatives of Jindal Steel had acknowledged Y.S. Jagan’s role in bringing the project to the State.
Concluding, Srikanth Reddy challenged the coalition to stop personal abuse and participate in a public debate on irrigation projects, governance and development with evidence, stating that the people of Andhra Pradesh would ultimately judge the facts.
*DSC was managed, not merit-based: MLCs*
