'Jagan Reddy thought he was Andhra's Saddam': Nara Lokesh slams former govt

Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh claimed that despite belonging to a political family himself, he had never seen such extravagant accommodations

Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh attacked YSRCP chief and former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and accused him of misusing public funds to construct a lavish mansion on Rushikonda hill in the state.

Nara Lokesh alleged that the site was originally meant for a tourism project but was transformed into a private luxury residence, referring to it as the Andhra Pradesh 'Sheesh Mahal' (glass palace).

Criticising Jagan Reddy's leadership, Lokesh said, "He thought he was the Saddam Hussein of Andhra Pradesh and would remain in power for 30 years."

Lokesh claimed that despite belonging to a political family himself, he had never seen such extravagant accommodations.

He revealed that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) had imposed a Rs 200 crore penalty on the state due to the environmental violations linked to the construction and pointed out that Jagan Reddy's family of four members lived in a Rs 700 crore property.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Nara Lokesh said, "It was a project of Andhra Pradesh's tourism department before it was converted into 'sheesh mahal'. Former CM Jagan Mohan Reddy thought that he was the 'Saddam Hussain' of Andhra Pradesh and that he would remain in power for 30 years."

"My grandfather was the CM, my father is the CM, but I have never seen such big rooms in my life. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has also imposed penalties of Rs 200 crores on the state, and the 'sheesh mahal' was built there," he stated.

"His (Jagan Mohan Reddy's) family is small; just four members are left. His sister and mother have been removed from the family. Just for the four people to live in a house, Rs 700 crores were spent. Even the PM doesn't have such a big house. We will think what to do with the house," he added.

The current Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-led NDA government is grappling with the challenge of repurposing the lavish estate.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu's administration has accused Jagan Mohan Reddy of gross misuse of public funds.

Andhra Pradesh Minister for Education, IT and Electronics Nara Lokesh on Wednesday expressed concern that the academic standards in schools in the state have plunged due to the imprudent decisions of the previous YSRCP government, according to a press statement.

Replying to the members, Duvvarapu Rama Rao, P Ashok Babu, and B Tirumala Naidu, in the Legislative Council, Nara Lokesh said that compared to the academic standards from 2014 to 2024, during the YSRCP rule, the fifth-class students felt very difficult to read even the second-grade Telugu books.

"The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) has mentioned that while 57 per cent of the students could easily read the books in 2014, the percentage has fallen to 37.5 during the YSRCP rule," the Minister for Education said.

"In 2014, almost 80 per cent of the eighth standard students could easily read second-grade Telugu books 2014; this has fallen to 53 per cent by 2024. During the YSRCP government, the total strength of government schools and junior colleges came down by a whopping 12 lakh, which has now reached a mere 33.4 lakh," the State Education Minister added.

Nara Lokesh further said that the YSRCP government had forcibly imposed inadvertent decisions and unplanned reforms on parents and teachers.

Declaring that 10 to 15 radical reforms are being introduced in the academic sector by the TDP-led NDA Government to improve the educational standards, Lokesh made it clear that political interference will be avoided in the process of the transfer of teachers.

Nara Lokesh said that the outcome of all education will go up by leaps and bounds, and the TDP-led NDA government is taking this responsibility.