TDP government failed to fulfil poll promises, says Congress

The Congress's Andhra Pradesh unit on Sunday accused the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government of being neck-deep in corruption and failing to fulfil its poll promises.

Congress' state president N. Raghuveera Reddy released a progress report of the TDP government, which would be completing its first year on June 8, in which Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu scored 200 out of 100 in corruption, but only zeros for implementing in his main election promises.

"No work is being done until and unless suitcases and briefcases are given to the big boss and small boss," it said in an oblique reference to Naidu and his son N. Lokesh.

Picking up 18 of the 600 promises made by the TDP in its election manifesto, the Congress gave seven out of 100 on the implementation of Naidu's main election promise of unconditional waiver of all farmers' loans. Of Rs.87,000 crore required for loan waivers, the government gave a mere Rs.7,000 crore, it said.

The Congress said that the free health insurance scheme of Arogyasri has been kept in abeyance and instead NTR Health Cards would be issued to those below the poverty line. "Even the scheme named after his father-in-law and TDP founder, NTR, is a total non-starter," it said.

The progress report slammed Naidu for ignoring his repeated promise to make Andhra "a drought-free state".

"The government has done nothing to alleviate drought in the last year. Now with the Indian Meteorological Department forecasting less than average rainfall for the coming monsoon, we were very worried if the government would do anything at all to protect the farmers," it said.

While releasing the report, Raghuveera Reddy challenged Naidu for a public debate on the performance of the state government.