In an exclusive chat, the minister called out the previous state government for not proffering constructive criticism on policies.
South First caught up with AP Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath in Visakhapatnam for an exclusive chat. (South First)
Finance Minister of Andhra Pradesh Buggana Rajendranath Reddy blamed the Opposition TDP for misleading the people of the state and not being constructive in their criticism of the government’s policies.
In an exclusive chat with the South First in Visakhapatnam, Buggana Rajendranath said — regarding the total investment target from the Global Investment Summit (GIS) 2023 — that “our target is more into realisable figures and not just MoUs. And it so happened that we got more than what we assessed.”
He called this government’s expectations as “realistic”, unlike the previous government’s, which exaggerated the investment numbers to hoodwink the people.
“The cumulative number from the three summits organised by the previous government was put at around ₹19 lakh crore, but the actual amount realised, or being realised, is about ₹1.7 to ₹1.9 lakh crore,” he said.
గత ప్రభుత్వంతో పోలిస్తే సీఎం వైయస్ జగన్ హయాంలోనే రాష్ట్రానికి ఎక్కువ పెట్టుబడులు#AdvantageAP#APGIS2023 @ysjagan @YSRCParty pic.twitter.com/nhgURZ336s
— Buggana Rajendranath (@BugganaRaja) March 2, 2023
In January this year, the TDP attacked the government for not attending the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. In fact, TDP scion, Nara Lokesh ridiculed the fact that Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy was not invited to the high table.
In response to this, Buggana Rajendranath told South First, “The chief minister of Maharashtra rarely visits such forums. Does that mean investments don’t come to Maharashtra? Have you seen the Gujarat chief minister visit Davos? Did it prevent Gujarat from industrial development? Therefore, visiting Davos should not be a benchmark. In fact, Chandrababu Naidu has packaged himself that way to fool the people of Andhra Pradesh.”
The dream is not only to reestablish Andhra Pradesh as an industrial hub of India, but also to position it as a global leader#AdvantageAP #APGIS2023 #AndhraPradesh #GlobalSummit pic.twitter.com/eyFZPSzq6P
— Buggana Rajendranath (@BugganaRaja) March 3, 2023
One of the consistent criticisms of the TDP against the YSRCP government is its over reliance on welfare.
In a fact sheet released in January, the TDP blamed the current government for neglecting development, squandering opportunities for industrial development, and harassing already-existing units and forcing them to desert the state.
“The funds for welfare and development can be generated only through industrialisation and the future generations will not excuse Jagan as he is completely destroying the sector for his political and personal gains,” the fact sheet read.
Responding to this accusation, Buggana Rajedranath said, “The Opposition party has nothing else to do. If we do welfare they question why we are not holding a summit. If we organise a summit, they say we are doing it for political gains.”
He added, “If we don’t go to Davos, they say something is wrong with us. If we go to Davos, they say we failed. Unfortunately, that is not how it works. The concern is that they do not proffer constructive criticism,” and signed off.
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