Anantapur: The mass car launch ceremony of Kia Motors-India conveniently forgot former chief minister and TD supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu at the launch of Seltos at its Penukonda unit in Anantapur district on Thursday.
Even during the PowerPoint presentation by Kia Motors India MD and CEO Kookhyun Shim on setting up of the industry from levelling the land to rolling out the car into the Indian market, there was no mention of the TD government and former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s efforts in assisting it establish the unit within two years of land acquisition.
Mr Naidu ensured that land acquisition was done at a faster pace and also issued all permissions, including allocation of HNSS water, through a separate channel. The trial production of cars was launched on January 29 when the CEO and other representatives of the firm lauded Mr Naidu for his support.
Interestingly, the same CEO during his speech on Thursday did not even take the name of Mr Chandrababu Naidu during the entire programme of car launch this morning. He had also quoted the cooperation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in establishing their unit.
Mean while, YSRC government representative, Buggana Rajendranath Reddy, while reading out the message of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, said that Kia was an effort of former CM late Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy a decade ago when he invited the Kia representatives to set up their unit in AP. “Those efforts attained shape during his son Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s regime as chief minister," the finance minister said.
The YSRC party, however, claimed effort to attract Korean-based car manufacturing unit and also assured to provide all necessary assistance for the investors who come forward to set up in AP.
TD district unit president BK Parthasarathi , who was former MLA of Penukonda, lashed out at the government for claiming their efforts in establishing Kia cars manufacturing unit. "The credit for establishing Kia Motors goes totally to our leader and former CM N. Chandrababu Naidu," he said.
A group of TD men offered 'palabhishekam' to TD chief N. Chandrababu Naidu lauding him for his sincere efforts in establishing Kia Motors at Penukonda.
