Proddatur, July 6: YSRCP State spokesperson and former MLA Rachamallu Siva Prasad Reddy said Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Minister Nara Lokesh are conspiring to shut down Bharathi Cement by blocking raw-material transport, threatening the management and issuing notices to cancel limestone leases. Addressing the media at his camp office, he said intimidating industrialists, harassing companies and ultimately forcing them to close has become the coalition government’s industrial policy.
He said TDP workers were preventing limestone-carrying trucks from reaching the Bharathi Cement plant at Kamalapuram in Kadapa district, creating a serious shortage of raw material and bringing production close to a halt. Despite repeated complaints from the company, police had neither registered cases nor ensured the movement of even a single truck. At the same time, the government was issuing repeated notices threatening cancellation of limestone leases, clearly showing its intention to cripple the plant because YS Jagan holds a stake in it.
Rachamallu said Bharathi Cement supports nearly 3,000 workers directly and around 12,000 families indirectly, while contributing substantial revenue to the state and paying nearly ₹3,000 crore in taxes. Political vendetta against one individual cannot be allowed to destroy the livelihoods of nearly 15,000 families.
He said industries now receive a red carpet only if they pay illegal collections, commissions or award contracts to ruling-party leaders. Companies unwilling to submit face pressure, blackmail and closure threats. He cited similar pressure on projects linked to Adani Pumped Storage, Dalmia, UltraTech, Chettinad, Aurobindo Pharma, Ramayapatnam Port and United Breweries.
Rachamallu asked whether the YS Jagan government ever targeted Chandrababu’s Heritage Foods between 2019 and 2024. He warned that continued political harassment of industries would drive existing companies out, block new investment and severely damage Andhra Pradesh’s economy.
*Coalition Govt driving aqua sector into crisis: YSRCP*
