Chandrababu Naidu blasts CM Jaganmohan Reddy accusing blatant wastage of public money

Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu has demanded that the expenditure on the paints on government buildings in Andhra Pradesh be revealed and recovered from the ruling YSRC Party.

The ex-CM was reacting to the Supreme Court's refusal on Tuesday to entertain the Jaganmohan Reddy government's petition challenging the AP High Court orders initiating the contempt of court proceedings against the state officials for declining to remove the YSRCP party colors.

Since August 2019, after it came to power one year back, the Reddy government has been painting the Panchayat etc., offices with blue, white, and green colours identified with the YSRCP flag. The same was challenged in the High Court, which had earlier directed the state government to remove the new colors.

Not abiding by the order, the Reddy government had approached the apex court on the matter.

“The YSRCP colors episode is an example of how the obstinate stand of a ruler harms the state. This is in disobedience of the Constitution, the courts,” said Naidu.

“The government even tried to deceive the courts by adding another (terracotta) color, which the HC again ordered to remove. Since the directive was unheeded by the YSRCP government, three top officials – chief secretary, principal secretary (Panchayati Raj) and commissioner had to stand in the court,” the former CM remarked.

“Now, the apex court has ordered that the colors should be removed within a month. Why go to such extremes like contempt of court for publicity with your party colors on government edifices? No other party across the country or its leaders thought of painting buildings visited by everyone with their political colors.”

“Who gave you the authority to waste public money on paintings first, then on advocates and now another expense on removing colors. Is it to waste thousands of crores of public money, you asked the voters for one chance (to become the CM),” Naidu questioned Reddy.