Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday said a coalition of regional parties, and not the BJP, would form the government at the Centre in 2019 and added that the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) would play a key role in the formation of the non-BJP government by aligning with like-minded parties.
The TDP chief said: “TDP had helped in the formation of governments at the Centre in the past and would play a key role in 2019. TDP has the power to change national politics. People have lost faith in BJP and Modi.’’
Speaking at the inaugural session of the three-day TDP conclave ‘Mahanadu’ at Vijayawada, Naidu likened the fight against the BJP with that of TDP founder N T Rama Rao, who invoked “Telugu pride and self-respect to form the TDP to fight against the Centre’s attitude towards Telugu people”.
Naidu said Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks a lot but does little. “There is lot of talk and slogans like Make in India, Skill India, Digital India, Stand up India, but has anything been done? Has anyone seen any change? Has anyone benefited?’’ Naidu asked. “This person does not bother about all that,’’ he said.
Naidu said decisions like demonetisation and GST were taken without much thought. “Due to demonetisation, banks have become bankrupt. People are unable to withdraw hard-earned money from ATMs because there is no cash. GST has been rolled out haphazardly so much so that even having a meal at a small hotel has become complicated. Punjab National Bank has gone bust under this government. NPAs of banks have increased since 2014. There is an agrarian crisis, but this man refuses to give MSP or implement Swaminathan Committee recommendations. People are suffering under the BJP,’’ he said.
“As the BJP is unable to come to power in south India, they are trying backdoor entry using Governors. Modi had to face black flags in Tamil Nadu for trying to interfere in state politics. In Karnataka, they thought they could buy MLAs. So they formed a government which collapsed two days later. If the BJP cannot have power, they use divisive politics and create law and order situations,” he said.
“In Andhra Pradesh, they have planned this conspiracy at Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams by claiming that some jewels were lost. They are even trying to take control of the temple of Lord Venkateshwara. How can this party claim to be honest?”
Criticising the BJP for going back on promises made during bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, Naidu said, “The BJP has betrayed the people of Andhra Pradesh by denying what is rightfully theirs. The party reneged on its promises to implement the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2014. What the BJP has done to the state is unjust and we have borne the brunt of their non-cooperative attitude. The BJP is now colluding with YSR Congress Party for selfish reasons and trying to destabilise Andhra Pradesh.”
“Despite non-cooperation from the Centre, we have embarked on a journey to build a world-class capital Amaravati and have become one of the best performing states…. Only the TDP can achieve this. So I appeal to people to give the TDP 25 MP seats in the next election,” the chief minister said.
TDP leaders at the event ruled out extending support to the BJP or the Congress in 2019 elections. They ruled out any pre-poll alliance and maintained that in the post-poll scenario of a hung House, they would support Third Front. “We will never ally with Congress. They cheated Telugu people during bifurcation. We will not support the BJP as they have cheated us now,” TDP MP Thota Narsimhan said.
Leave a reply