CPM accuses coalition of misleading people ahead of local body polls

Vijayawada: CPM state secretary V Srinivasa Rao on Wednesday accused Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister K Pawan Kalyan and other coalition leaders of making misleading statements during the local body election campaign to divert attention from unfulfilled promises.

Addressing a press conference at Balotsav Bhavan here along with party state secretariat member Y Venkateswara Rao, he demanded the withdrawal of GO 160, alleging that it provided for collecting drinking water maintenance charges from villagers. He claimed that public opposition had forced the government to stop publicising the order and demanded an explanation.

He also alleged irregularities in the Jal Jeevan Mission, claiming that several households had taps without pipeline connections and that people could eventually be burdened with the cost of alleged corruption.

Srinivasa Rao alleged that essential commodity prices had risen sharply and demanded immediate measures to control inflation, prevent hoarding and black marketing, and supply essential goods at affordable rates through ration shops. He questioned whether commodities were being diverted to Kakinada and Gangavaram ports or into illegal markets.

Questioning the proposed Visakhapatnam data centre project, he said the projected water requirement had risen from one TMC ft to six TMC ft. He also questioned the employment projections, contrasting Lokesh’s initial promise of 1.60 lakh jobs with the reported estimate of 20,000 jobs from six data centres combined. He demanded clarity on water, power and environmental impacts.

The CPM leader also alleged that 32 lakh votes had been deleted during the Special Intensive Revision and that attempts were made to delete 40,000 votes through Form 7 applications.

He criticised the government for failing to fulfil promises to women, including monthly assistance of Rs 1,500 and relief on DWCRA loan interest.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dasari Srinivasa Rao

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Dasari Srinivasa Rao is a Staff Reporter with The Hans India, covering NTR and Krishna districts, with a primary focus on Vijayawada. He has 32 years of experience in journalism. His reporting spans a wide range of beats, including city and rural development, politics, irrigation, education, crime, and human-interest stories.

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