Ministers flay Jagan over remarks on Bill Gates visit
Vijayawada: Information and public relations minister Kolusu Parthasarathy on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on YSRCP chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy over his remarks on the recent visit of Bill Gates to Amaravati.
Speaking to reporters at the Assembly, Parthasarathy accused Jagan of being ‘anti-development’ and unable to accept Amaravati’s revival under the present NDA coalition government.
“Bill Gates appreciated the Chief Minister’s vision and the State’s progress. That praise has clearly unsettled Jagan and his media,” the minister said. He alleged that criticism surrounding Gates’ visit was politically motivated and aimed at undermining the government’s development push.
Parthasarathy contrasted what he described as ‘five years of destruction’ under the previous regime with what he called a renewed focus on construction and growth under Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
“Those who thrive on demolitions cannot tolerate construction,” he said, adding that no amount of negative publicity would stall development in Andhra Pradesh. He warned that the public would respond politically to what he termed deliberate attempts to tarnish the state’s image.
Revenue minister Anagani Satya Prasad echoed the criticism. He accused Jagan and his affiliated media of spreading ‘poisonous propaganda’ over the Gates visit.
Addressing media at Assembly, Satya Prasad said Gates’ engagement with Andhra Pradesh in sectors such as health, agriculture and education signaled global confidence in the state.
He recalled that Hyderabad emerged as an IT hub in undivided Andhra Pradesh during earlier reforms that attracted global technology players. The minister alleged that industries had left the State during the previous YSRCP government and claimed that the current administration is working to restore investor confidence.
