A.P. surging ahead with ‘One State – One Capital’ and ‘Decentralisation of Development’ as its slogan: Lokesh

Minister for IT and HRD Nara Lokesh on Sunday (December 7) said Andhra Pradesh was surging ahead with ‘One State – One Capital’ and ‘Decentralisation of Development’ as its slogan. He said the State is overcoming the troubled times, which, he said, began in 2014 when the State was “bifurcated unjustly”.

Then there was the tenure of YSRCP between 2019 and 2024, during which development took a backseat and everything was in a shambles. The TDP-led coalition government, however, has put the State back on the track of growth, and this would not be possible without the people’s support, he observed.

Addressing the Telugu diaspora at Dallas on the first day of his five-day tour of the U.S. and Canada, Mr. Lokesh said he and his family were maligned by the YSRCP leaders, and N. Chandrababu Naidu was incarcerated in false cases foisted on him. That was a time when Non-Resident Andhras rallied behind Mr. Naidu and his wife Bhuvaneswari, who struggled a lot due to the YSRCP’s vilification.

The YSRCP were emboldened in their attacks on Mr. Chandrababu Naidu as the then Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy took it lightly and even encouraged it. All those who resorted to “character assassination” would be brought to justice, Mr. Lokesh said.

Mr. Lokesh said that Mr. Chandrababu Naidu was the brand ambassador for development and that Mr. Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan were taking the State forward with due support from the Centre under Prime Minster Narendra Modi’s leadership. Concerted efforts were being made to develop the State while focusing on welfare of the masses.

While the coalition partners (the TDP, JSP and BJP) were striving to achieve all-round development of the State, the YSRCP was politicising everything in spite of receiving a drubbing in the 2024 elections, Mr. Lokesh said, exhorting the people to see to it that the NDA remained in power for at least the next 15 years as continuity of government was essential to make steady progress like it was happening in Gujarat and Odisha.

A.P. Non-Resident Telugu Society president Ravi Kumar Vemuri, TDP U.S.A. coordinator Komati Jayaram, Garland City Mayor Dyland Hedrick and others were present.