Cornered Congress' convulsive bursts

DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: Having got nothing new to offer the electorate, except the promise of continuing the ongoing welfare schemes, the ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh is adopting a rather strange strategy to counter the opposition parties that have come up with doles galore in their election manifestos.
Adopting an aggressive posture over its “welfare and development” agenda, the Congress is clearly trying to push the opposition parties – the Telugu Desam Party and the Praja Rajyam Party in particular – onto the defensive.
“Don’t believe TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu’s words. He is known to break the promises that he makes and hence lacks any credibility. The Rs 2-a-kg rice scheme is a classic example of his topsy-turvy stances,” Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy has been repeatedly trying to impress upon the people at his campaign rallies in the Telangana region.
The Chief Minister is thus aiming hard to negate the impact of the attractive cash transfer scheme and the free colour television scheme that the TDP promised in its election manifesto. “These are a discredited man’s ridiculous promises,” Rajasekhara Reddy remarked.
On the other hand, Rajasekhara Reddy is also trying to deride PRP chief Chiranjeevi’s development vision and the promise of ushering in a “change.”
“What is the change that Chiranjeevi is talking about? Does he intend to scrap all the welfare programmes we launched in the last five years? Is it the change that he is talking about,” the Chief Minister questions at the election rallies over the past week.
The political novice that he is, Chiranjeevi seems to have fallen to the Chief Minister’s ploy. Now, rather than propagating his own party’s agenda, the actor-turned-politician has been left to “clarify” to the people that no welfare programme of the current government would be abandoned. “We are not against any welfare scheme as such. We are only opposed to the deep-rooted corruption in the implementation of the schemes and the anomalies in programmes like the Arogya Sri health insurance. The schemes will be continued but with greater transparency and in a more effective manner,” Chiranjeevi has been assuring people at his road shows in East and West Godavari districts this week.
The Chief Minister, who is the sole campaigner for the Congress in the state now, is also crying hoarse that if any other party than the Congress is elected to power, all the massive irrigation projects taken up under the Rs two lakh crore Jalayagnam programme would be brought to a grinding halt. “Chandrababu has no concern for the agriculture sector while Chiranjeevi is totally opposed to the irrigation projects. The state will go to dogs if such parties are voted to power,” Rajasekhara Reddy tells his audience.
Again, Chiranjeevi comes out with a clarification on this issue as well. “Irrigation projects are essential but we have to prioritise them. Every project that has been taken up in the last five years is mired in corruption. The Comptroller and Auditor General’s reports speak volumes about the unbridled corruption. We shall certainly root out the corruption and complete the projects,” Chiranjeevi asserts in his rebuttal to Rajasekhara Reddy’s claims.
With Chandrababu launching his electioneering today, the TDP’s counter-offensive too will begin.