Naidu repeatedly lied about 'Polavaram project' height: YSRCP

Senior Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) leader and Rajya Sabha member Vijayasai Reddy V said opposition leader and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had repeatedly lied about the height of Polavaram project.

"The media houses reporting in his favour, Babu is repeatedly lying about the height of Polavaram project," Reddy added.

Invoking Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels, Naidu would face the same consequences as him for lying about the height of Polavaram project, he added.

Polavaram has emerged as a major controversial issue between the ruling YSRCP and the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) taking political barbs at one another.

Earlier, Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy said Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) is a national project which the Central government must complete.

The Central government has responsibility as per Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2014 and the decision was taken on it earlier by the Union cabinet, Reddy added.

He said Andhra Pradesh is only an executing authority of the project being monitored by PPA under the Government of India.

On Wednesday he clarified that Polavaram project would be completed on time without reducing the height.

Addressing the Polavaram issue on the third day of Winter Assembly session, he said there is no question of reducing the height at 45.72 metres and water would be provided for the kharif season in 2022.

Andhra CM alleged that corruption and mismanagement were rampant during the previous TDP government, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi openly saying that Polavaram had become the ATM of Chandrababu Naidu.

"We have made efforts and tried to clear the mess Naidu has created over Polavaram by agreeing to 2014 prices, accepting the special package and taking over the project from Centre," said Andhra CM Jagan Reddy.

He alleged that the corruption was so rampant that the state government saved as much as Rs 1,343 crore on reverse tendering, of which Rs 1,140 crore was saved by cancelling tenders of the previous TDP government and going for fresh bidding.

"Polavaram is the lifeline of the state and it was Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, who was instrumental in providing majority of the clearances while Chandrababu Naidu had been making tall claims that 70 per cent of the work was completed. But in reality, it was nearly 20 percent of work as he lagged behind in land acquisition and neglected rehabilitation and resettlement," he said.

The CM also said that a 100-foot statue of former Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy would be installed at the project site in recognition for his initiatives which enabled the project to take off. However, the opposition TDP has opposed the statue.

Meanwhile, YSCRCP leader Vijayasai Reddy V appreciated the current state government for inking a deal with Amul to source milk from farmers.

"Milk revolution has started in the state. In three phases, Amul will source milk from all the villages," Vijayasai Reddy added.

He said Amul would pay farmers between Rs 4 to 5 more per litre of milk than private companies like Heritage owned by Naidu.

The Rajya Sabha MP also hailed the government scheme which distributes milch cattle to eligible people as it would strengthen the villages financially.