Former Union Minister and Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Chinta Mohan on Saturday said that the Congress Party was committed to making Tirupati the capital of the State if elected to power.
Dr. Mohan was campaigning for the by-election to the Tirupati Lok Sabha constituency at Srikalahasti and Satyavedu assembly segments. Speaking to the media at Srikalahasti, Dr. Mohan said that the ensuing by-election to Tirupati Lok Sabha would decide the fate of Tirupati’s development.
Sufficient water resources, availability of over one lakh acres in and around Tirupati, presence of many educational institutions, and international airport make the city fit as the State capital, he said.
“In 2013, the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had positively responded to the demand for making Tirupati the capital of the bifurcated State. The UPA government had also promised the Special Category Status. Unfortunately, the NDA government had betrayed the people,” he said.
“Tirupati by-election will mark a big battle between the two forces, one on spree of privatisation of public sector units, and the other committed to avert the dangers of privatisation,” Dr Mohan said.
Criticising the YSR Congress Party government’s Amma Vodi scheme, Dr. Mohan said that the scheme had thrown about five lakh teachers out of jobs from private schools, while about 50,000 private schools were facing the threat of closure. He said that about 25 persons attached to the private schools had already committed suicide unable to bear the financial stress.
The former Minister said that in order to win Tirupati by-election, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had deployed seven Ministers to manage each of the seven assembly segments. “Instead, Mr Jagan should go look for seven advocates to fight for him in the courts,” he said.
