Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took strong objection to the cancellation and violation of international agreements with institutions such as the World Bank, hinting at the attempts by the Andhra Pradesh government to review the Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and adoption of reverse tendering mechanism.
She observed that the development of the State suffered a major setback in the last six years due to corruption as the TDP and the YSRCP failed to stem the rot.
‘Illegal sand mining’
Addressing the party’s virtual rally from New Delhi on Friday, Ms. Sitharaman said, “Large-scale corruption took place in Amaravati (capital city), Polavaram, Swachch Bharat and irrigation projects during the TDP regime while illegal sand mining and supply has become a hallmark of the present dispensation.”
She sought to know the number of corruption cases booked after the YSRCP came to power and how many were actually brought to justice.
The government appeared to have compromised on achieving its goal of eradicating corruption, she said, and expressed regret that caste had become a disturbing factor.
Ms. Sitharaman said family and dynastic politics were rampant in the State, and the Deputy Chief Ministers in the present government had nominal powers.
‘Vote-bank politics’
She accused both the regional parties of playing vote-bank politics in the name of secularism as they had always done, asserting that provoking the minorities to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was one such instance of spreading communal hatred for garnering votes.
