TDP leader slams AP govt for low NITI Aayog rankings

Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) [India], August 28 (ANI): Senior Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Yanamala Ramakrishnudu launched a scathing attack on the Andhra Pradesh government on Friday after the NITI Ayog ranked the state the 20th position in export preparedness and the seventh position among the eight coastal states in the country, saying that the rankings reflected the failure of Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy government's policies.
In a statement from the TDP, Ramakrishnudu said the neighbouring states were ranked higher even though they did not have coastline benefits.
"Andhra Pradesh has got 11 minor ports and one major port but it has fared poorly and stood in 20th position. Among the Southern States, AP was placed at the bottom in terms of performance. All this was because of total negligence of the industrial sector by the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YCP) ever since it came to power," the statement quoted Ramakrishnudu.
He further said, "In the past 15 months, no worthwhile industrial policy has been brought forward even as the overall development of the state remains largely neglected. No growth was achieved in exports and the industrial policy framed by the previous TDP regime was cancelled out of political vendetta which eventually led to the present state of affairs. As of now, no investor was coming forward to make investments to set up industries in the State."
The opposition leader also said that the industrial policy announced by the YCP Government after 15 months of its rule was not industrialist-friendly and had a destructive approach, which resulted in no industrialist being prepared to make future investments.
He asserted that the TDP regime had worked hard to attract Rs 2 lakh crore investments every year to the state which came to Rs 10 lakh crore in its five-year rule.
"If the TDP comes to power, it would have brought another Rs 2.5 lakh crore investments in the past 15 months. On its part, the YCP regime had not only stopped the Rs 2.5 lakh crore investments from coming, but it had also driven away Rs 2.5 lakh crore investments that were attracted previously," he said. (ANI)