TDP chief lauds party activists for their unstinted support

Anantapur: TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu has spoken highly of the party workers role during the past 40 years ever since film actor-turned-politician N T Rama Rao founded it in 1982. Throughout the four decades it was TDP workers who displayed unstinted loyalty to the party even though several party leaders deserted the party at different times.

Addressing an extensive general body meeting of the TDP workers here on Friday, Naidu exhorted the workers to be loyal only to the party and not to leaders. Work with the leaders but be loyal to the party, he said.

With little time left for the 2024 Assembly elections, he advised leaders and their followers to work for the party with renewed vigour and not to keep coming to Mangalagiri to meet him and to impress him. He said all leaders and party workers will be under Google based scanner of their involvement in party programmes in districts.

The TDP national president revealed that he would announce the party candidates well ahead of Assembly elections and he would give 40 per cent of MLA tickets to youth and even freshers.

He also had a dig at the Jagan Mohan Reddy government for encouraging attacks on his party workers. He said party activists were killed in Tadipatri, Dharmavaram and in other parts of the State.

He also expressed concern over the government directing police to foist cases on TDP activists. He said cases have been filed against 6,040 TDP workers.

He said that his party has 60 lakh members who are the lifeline of the party. He said that Nara Lokesh, the party national general secretary is formulating several welfare programmes for the party workers, under which the party will take care of any party worker who required corporate medical emergency treatment apart from insuring party workers etc. The party will treat every worker as a family member and will help them in times of need.

Naidu called upon party workers to go to people with the slogan ' Quit Jagan, Save AP.' Lambasting the YSRCP government and Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, he said that the Chief Minister could not bring one industrial project like the Kia Motors during the past 3 years. He said the Chief Minister had driven out of Visakhapatnam the Adani Group who came forward to set up the 'Data Ware Housing' project which would have dwarfed the Hitec City in Hyderabad. Jagan even chased out the Lulu Group which came to set up largest international convention centre in Vizag. These two projects would have triggered Vizag development but due to the Chief Minister's vested interests, the projects were lost and now the Telangana Chief Minister is trying to woo them to Hyderabad, he fumed. Besides the Franklin Templeton Group too, went back on its project due to Jagan Mohan Reddy's short-sighted attitude.

Naidu expressed concern at the drug mafia taking roots in the State and the mafia having a field day in ganja smuggling. He asked parents to save their children from going into the clutches of the mafia.

Naidu reminded that Jagan when he was Opposition leader supported Amaravati and even suggested that 30,000 acres is sufficient for the capital at Amaravati but after coming to power, he took a U turn on the capital.

Former ministers Palle Raghunatha Reddy, Kalava Srinivas, Paritala Sunitha and ex-MLAs participated in the meeting.

Ex-MP J C Diwakar Reddy and ex-MLA J C Prabhakar Reddy were also present.

Naidu later left for Somandepalle village in Sathya Sai district to participate in 'Badude Badudu' public meeting. En route he addressed road shows at CK Palle and other villages. His visit enthused party rank and file and rekindled their hopes of the TDP returning to power in 2024.