VIJAYAWADA: TDP supremo and Opposition Leader N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday expressed his disappointment over the Union Budget 2022-23, saying a raw deal was meted out to Andhra Pradesh. Naidu asserted that the ruling YSRC has failed yet again to protect the interests of the State.
They should explain to the people what they had achieved for AP despite having 28 MPs. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy completely failed to bring pressure on the Centre for getting a fair deal to the State. The CM could not secure expected projects and funds for the State, he alleged.
“The NDA government at the Centre has presented over four budgets since 2019 after the YSRC came to power in the State. However, the State could not get any benefit. The 28 YSRC MPs are putting their personal agenda above the State’s interests,” he alleged. “The budget offers nothing to farmers. No announcements were made to support the poorer sections and the sectors that were badly hit by the Covid pandemic,” he observed.
The TDP chief termed it incorrect on the part of the Centre to abdicate its responsibility from the national food safety programme. It was unacceptable that no measures were announced to ease the burden on the poor who were struggling due to rising prices of essential commodities, he said.
Naidu, however, welcomed the decisions taken by the Centre to bring in reforms in various sectors. The former Chief Minister welcomed the proposals with regard to interlinking of rivers. “The interlinking of rivers was started over seven years ago during the TDP regime, which successfully linked the Krishna-Godavari rivers,” he pointed out.
The TDP chief also hailed the new policy to encourage electric vehicles. “The Centre made good proposals on digital transactions and digital currency. The measures for promotion of the solar energy sector was a step forward to curb pollution,” he said.