Former MP flays Centre, state for ignoring Rayalaseema

Tirupati: Former MP and senior Congress leader Chintha Mohan on Monday demanded a Rs 50,000 crore package to develop Rayalaseema and Nellore districts.

Mr Mohan took out a rally with party activists and women from various localities here on Monday to press for taking up the schemes and projects which were initiated by the previous government but were kept in cold storage after the change of guard at the Centre and in the state.

Addressing the gathering before the start of the rally at Krishnadevaraya statue junction, Mr Mohan smelt a rat in the political parties and leaders focusing only on special category status and in the process side-tracking the cause of Rayalaseema.

Mr Chinta Mohan held the duo, Mr Chandrababu Naidu and Mr Venkaiah Naidu, responsible for keeping the projects in cold storage including the much beneficial Rs 280 crore housing sanctioned by the previous UPA government for construction of about 7,008 houses for the homeless poor living in the slums in pilgrim town and also the construction of Dugarajapatnam port, which was approved in Parliament.

Saying that Union Minister for transport and shipping Nitin Gadkari told him when he met him that his government has no objection to take up Dugarajapatnam port construction if the AP CM and Venkaiah agree, Mr Mohan blamed the two that their own vested interests were against the port construction despite it would help to generate thousands of jobs and accelerate development of Nellore and Chittoor districts.