Scoffing at ‘orchestrated campaign’ launched by Opposition parties, especially the YSR Congress over the loan waiver and other issues, Minister for Information, Public Relations and IT Palle Raghunatha Reddy on Sunday said the State government would waive farm loans in three phases.
Notwithstanding the resource crunch, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was very firm on keeping all his pre-poll promises including waiver of loans issued to DWCRA women, producing one IT entrepreneur from each household, enhancing old age and widow pensions and providing 20 litre mineral water at Rs.2 in each village under the NTR Sujala Sravanti project, he said.
Mr. Reddy, after a review meeting attended by Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu, local MLAs and officials here Sunday, ridiculed at the criticism by YSR Congress president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy that their promise to write off agriculture loans was a hoax.
“People have seen what our Chief Minister has in his mind to convert the State into Swarnandhrarpadesh. We stand by each and every promise we have made during electioneering,” he said.
Mr. Reddy said they would spend Rs.35,000 crore on farm loan waiver and a huge amount on loans up to Rs.1 lakh taken by DWCRA women. For seven lakh government employees, retirement age had been enhanced from 58 to 60.
Accusing Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy of having a tacit understanding with TRS president and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao for division of Andhra Pradesh before elections, he said Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy dreamt of becoming the CM of AP by hoodwinking people.
“But the people understood his ulterior motives and rejected him for his involvement quid pro quo assets case,” he said.
Mr. Reddy further said that Mr. Naidu was a visionary and the people had reposed tremendous confidence that under his pragmatic stewardship the State could be transformed into a developed one.
Mr. Naidu attracted world attention by holding the first paperless cabinet meeting recently, he stated.
