Chandrababu-Modi Saga, An Act Of Deceit  

Kommineni Srinivasa Rao

In the context of the rising fuel prices, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu criticized the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, saying that the Central government was involved in corrupt practices. While it is the same with the criticism against the rising prices of petrol and diesel across the country, the Andhra Pradesh government hiked the prices even more, by Rs 4 per litre of petrol and diesel.

Chandrababu, who had long argued that the Centre was doing injustice to the TDP government, is now waging a direct verbal attack against the Prime Minister. From praising the BJP government for its development work and criticizing the Congress for its betrayal to the State, Chandrababu, after breaking the alliance with the BJP, is now accusing the BJP of cheating the people of the State. There was a time when Chandrababu threw an open challenge to show if any other Chief Minister managed to get as many funds to his State, as he did for Andhra Pradesh.

Also Read: Time To End Chandrababu’s Anarchy

Ever since the TDP's pullout from the NDA, Chandrababu went on to say that the Centre may file cases against his government. Gradually, Chandrababu became closer to the Congress party. Although Chandrababu was initially cautious in criticizing PM Modi, he might have gained confidence after meeting Congress President Rahul Gandhi at the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka Chief Minister Kumaraswamy in Bengaluru earlier this year.

The BJP, however, has been protecting Chandrababu from facing the music in the note for vote case, for the past three years. Is it not PM Modi's fault? Is it not violation of law? The construction of Polavaram project was the Centre's responsibility. Soon after Chandrababu requested the Centre to hand the project works over to the State government, the BJP agreed to do so. Now, the BJP leaders are alleging that Chandrababu has been indulging in corrupt practices in providing contracts.

Also Read: TDP’s Cosying Up To Congress Mirrors Chandrababu’s Fate

"Was it not the Centre's fault in opening the floodgates to Chandrababu's corruption?"
Like never before, the BJP government provided a financial assistance of Rs 8,000 crore through NABARD for the Polavaram project works. Also, PM Modi was instrumental in the addition of seven mandals in Telangana, which were under the catchment area of Polavaram project, into the territory of Andhra Pradesh. When the Centre asked the AP government for Utilization Certificates (UC) for the Rs 2,500 crore allotted for building Amaravati Capital city, the State government wrote a letter stating the funds were used for construction of High Court.

Did the Modi government not do injustice to the people of the State by staying mum over the rampant corruption in the Neeru-Chettu scheme? Was it fair to let go of the corrupt practices by minister Nara Lokesh in the MNREGA scheme? Not filing a single case in the incident that involved the killing of 29 innocents during the Godavari-Krishna Pushkarams is completely unacceptable.

It might be true that the Centre sanctioned an IIT, IIM, IIIT, IISc and a Central University to Andhra Pradesh. But, Chandrababu is boasting as if they were all his achievements.
TDP feels that the Centre's decision not to increase the number of Assembly seats went against them. But, it was not fair on PM Modi's part to stay silent when Chandrababu promised to waive loans worth Rs 89,000 crore, during the 2014 elections. It amounts to cheating thousands of DWCRA women, who were promised loan waivers by Chandrababu, since BJP tried to benefit from the alliance with TDP.

Also Read: Chandrababu Lacks KCR’s Confidence, Fears Defeat

By stating that it is impossible to provide reservations to the Kapu community after coming to power at the Centre, BJP should equally share the blame for deceiving the Kapus. Generally, Opposition parties like YSR Congress, Congress, CPI and CPM would criticize the Centre for not delivering its poll promises. But, after breaking the alliance, the TDP and the BJP have often been involved in verbal attacks against each other.

When the TDP-BJP alliance was intact, the BJP maintained that the Chandrababu government was heading in the direction of progress. At the same time, Chandrababu would claim that the State received huge funds from the Centre. He also said that the Special Category Status was not needed for AP.

All in all, Chandrababu's attempt to gain people's trust by blaming PM Modi looks like an act of trickery. Only time can tell to what extent the public would spare the two leaders.