Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Hyderabad: YSRCP chief and former Andhra Pradesh former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has accused chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu of making false claims about Google’s proposed $15 billion data centre investment in Visakhapatnam, alleging that Naidu is trying to hijack credit for a project initiated by the YSRCP government.
Jagan said Naidu was repeating his old pattern of taking credit, just as he did with Hyderabad’s Cyber Towers. Criticising Naidu’s statements,.
Jagan added that Hyderabad’s progress occurred largely during the tenure of Y S Rajasekhar Reddy and continued thereafter. He asserted that Naidu is “known for hijacking credit, not creating it.” Jagan further clarified that Google and Adani are business partners and that the groundwork for the Vizag data center project was laid when the YSRCP was in power.
“He is boasting about bringing Google to Vizag and replaying the same script as with Hyderabad’s Cyber Towers, which were actually the effort of N Janardhan Reddy. Unlike his claims, Hyderabad developed during YS Rajasekhar Reddy’s tenure, and progress continued thereafter. Chandrababu has always been known for hijacking credit rather than creating it,” Jagan told reporters on Thursday.
He clarified that Google and Adani are business associates, and the seeds of the Data Centre were sown when YSRCP was in office. “Adani is investing Rs 87,000 crore in the project, and Google will take over once it is built. The credit belongs to the YSRCP, not Chandrababu. What he is doing is pure credit chori,” he said.
Jagan also slammed Naidu calling his blatant lies, running a spurious liquor racket in an organised manner, skirting a Central probe, and spreading falsehoods about the Data Centre project. He announced that a mass movement would be launched against the privatization of medical colleges across the state.
Jagan alleged that the liquor racket is being run by Naidu's syndicate, with TDP members exposed in several places for manufacturing, supplying, and selling spurious liquor. At every stage, from production to sale, his people are involved. His propaganda machinery has been spinning stories and obtaining official leaks. One in every four liquor bottles sold in the state is fake, he said.
He stated that while YSRCP leaders are being harassed and blamed, no action is taken against ruling party members involved in such cases. The issue comes to light only when there are disputes over sharing the spoils.
The YSRCP chief asserted that the entire scam can be exposed only if a Central agency conducts a probe. Jagan also strongly criticized the coalition government for diluting Aarogyasri and handing over medical colleges to private parties, calling it a betrayal of public health. He announced a one-crore signature campaign against the privatisation of medical colleges, which would be carried out with full vigour to raise public opinion. “This campaign will serve as a referendum against the coalition government,” he said.
On the agriculture sector, he said farmers are suffering due to the government’s apathy. “There is no Minimum Support Price for any crop, and farmers are not getting urea or seeds at subsidized rates. The entire sector is bearing the brunt of this neglect,” he said.