Modi’s Double-engine Bullet Train Fast-tracking Development in AP: Lokesh

Vijayawada:Education minister Nara Lokesh has asserted that continuity of the alliance parties in governance is crucial for the state to achieve the top slot in development.

He drew a parallel with Gujarat’s growth under consistent leadership of then chief- minister Narendra Modi there.

Addressing the Super GST — Super Savings public meeting held near Nannuru check-post in Orvakal mandal of Kurnool district on Thursday, Lokesh said, “If the present government continues, AP becoming No.1 is a guarantee.”

Present at the meeting were Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the chief guest, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan. Naidu and Kalyan too praised the PM full throttle.

Lokesh credited Modi’s leadership for India’s rise as the world’s fourth-largest economy. “Because Modi became Prime Minister for three consecutive terms, India moved from the tenth position to become the fourth biggest economy globally,” he said.

He described Modi’s governance as a “double-engine bullet train” that was “fast-tracking” development in Andhra Pradesh. “We govern with full cooperation from the Centre in every respect,” he said, adding, Lokesh praised Kurnool as the land of valour that produced freedom fighters like Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy and Muthukuru Gowdappa.

The minister hailed the GST reforms initiated by the PM as a major boon for common people. “Through the Super GST and Super Savings initiative, it feels like celebrating both Dasara and Diwali together. The poor and middle-class families will save up to `15,000 annually due to the tax reductions,” he claimed.

Lokesh recalled that officials had warned of a revenue loss of about `8,000 crore to the state due to the GST reforms, “but CM backed the decision. He quoted Naidu as saying, “It’s fine if the government incurs a loss, as people will gain `8,000 crore in return.”

Lokesh listed major projects that reflected the Centre’s backing — revival of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, creation of the Visakhapatnam railway zone, speeding up of the Polavaram and Amaravati works, and establishment of a high court bench in Kurnool. The ArcelorMittal group had agreed to set up a steel plant in AP after Modi’s intervention, he said.

The Centre, Lokesh added, is extending full support for new ventures such as Google’s Space City, Drone City, Kopparthi and Orvakal industrial nodes, and the Bulk Drug Park. “This is not a double-engine government; this is a double-engine bullet train,” Lokesh said, adding that Modi’s Atmanirbhar Bharat vision was driving national and state progress.

He lauded Modi’s 25 years in public office — from CM to PM — calling him a symbol of commitment and hard work.

“Even after 25 years in power, Modi works as tirelessly as he did on his first day. Gujarat became a powerful state under him, and now he is turning India into a global superpower,” he said.