Vijayawada: TD supremo and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu defended his move to provide 5 per cent sub-quota to Kapus in the 10 per cent quota given by the Centre to the economically weaker in the open category groups.
Addressing party leaders and cadre in a teleconference on Wednesday, Mr Naidu accused the YSRC and BJP of trying to create a rift among caste groups in the open category.
“YSRC and BJP leaders are trying for chaos between castes. We should be ready to tackle this situation. More than half in the upper caste category are Kapus. That is why 5 per cent (half) was given to Kapus. BJP and YSRC leaders are criticising Kapu reservations. They could not ask about reservations for Kapus in Delhi. The Kapu reservation Bill was passed in the Assembly and sent to Delhi. Have the BJP and YSRC leaders spoken on this any day? YSR has cheated Kapus on reservations. What is the objection to the BJP and the YSRC on giving 50 per cent of EWS reservations to Kapus?” Mr Naidu asked.
He asked party cadre to take the decisions of the state Cabinet to the people, explain the steps taken for the welfare of the poor and explain how autos and tractors are given tax exemption. He termed as ridiculous, the claim of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that 85 per cent of corruption in the country had been plugged. “Can the Rs 43,000 crore scam in the Rafale deal be called ending corruption? Is running away from the country after defrauding banks to the tune of thousands of crores rupees termed as ending corruption? Is cheating banks ending corruption? During his rule, Modi brought down that main pillar of trust - the banks, and dealt a big blow at the security and public trust in the banking system. Those who defaulted banks to the tune of thousands of crores of rupees were allowed to flee the country,” he observed.
The Chief Minister stated that the remarks of Raghuram Rajan in Davos had exposed the hollowness of Modi misrule. There was concern that reforms were laid to rest during BJP rule. People are worried that job generation was not on the right lines and it is feared that the RBI did not enjoy the same freedom which it did in the past, he pointed out.
He also felt that the BJP which was shaken by the recent Kolkata rally had not recovered yet and the statements of Modi and Amit Shah reflect this. There was a nation-wide debate on EVMs and the BJP was trying to side-track the issue. It is everyone's demand that the ballot paper be re-introduced or they should provide 100 per cent VVPATs in all constituencies, he demanded.
Several companies like Deloitte, Wipro, Agile Governance and Swiss Ray had come forward to invest in Andhra Pradesh. All 13 districts in the state had witnessed industrialisation and provided the right eco-system, he stated.
He also said that he had addressed a video conference on ZBNF (zero budget natural farming) and the entire world was showing interest in natural farming and was keen on extending technical cooperation. Mr Naidu stated that '24,000 crore farm loans were waived in the state and the income of 97 per cent of the farmers had doubled. Micro-nutrients were provided free of cost.
