Vijayawada: The BJP and the TD have been fighting for the credit for getting Kia Motors to set up an automobile plant in Anantapur. On Monday, the YSRC government stepped into the battle.
The YSRC government claimed it was due to the intervention of then Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, in 2007 that the South Korean automobile giant had come to Andhra Pradesh.
During the ongoing Budget session in the Assembly, finance minister Buggana Rajendra-nath showed a letter written by Kia Motors Corporation CEO and president Han-Woo Park to AP Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on June 13, days after he was sworn in Chief Minister.
In the letter, Mr Park explained his association with Dr Rajasekhar Reddy in 2007 when he was a senior executive with Hyundai Corp.
Mr Park recollected that Dr Rajasekhar Reddy had urged them to set up an automobile manufacturing plant in the state in 2007, according to the letter.
Mr Rajendranath said everyone in the state should know the truth behind the establishment of the Kia Motors plant in the state. “They have been telling the world that it was due to N. Chandrababu Naidu’s persuasion and visits to South Korea that Kia Motors had invested in Andhra Pradesh but the truth is otherwise,” the minister said.
While Telugu Desam leaders says the company came to AP due to Mr Naidu’s efforts, the BJP says it was the outcome of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Seoul.
