'Mafias flourishing under YSRCP govt': Rajnath Singh holds roadshow in Andhra's Anakapalli

Anakapalli (Andhra Pradesh) [India], April 24 (ANI): Ahead of the simultaneous Legislative Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh on May 13, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh hit out at Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government, saying that the state has fallen behind economically with mafias in land, liquor, mining and sand flourishing.

"Under the YSRCP government, land mafia, sand mafia, mining mafia and liquor mafia are flourishing. The power of the ordinary people is diminishing and their progress is diminishing. But when the NDA government is formed here, either the mafias will be jailed or leave the state," the Raksha Mantri said speaking at a roadshow at Andhra Pradesh's Anakapalli on Wednesday.

Continuing his attack against the YSRCP government, Singh said that the Andhra government does not implement the Centrally sponsored schemes for fishermen in the state just so that Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not get credit for those schemes.

"If you support us we will give a new direction to the economic progress of Andhra. PM Modi has done quite a lot for fishermen but the state government has not implemented those schemes efficiently so PM Modi does not get credit for it," he said.

Speaking about the BJP-TDP-JanaSena alliance in the state, the Raksha Mantri stated that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government fulfils their promise.

"The BJP-led NDA is the most credible alliance in the country. Look at our election manifesto. We do what we say. There is no difference between our words and our deeds," he said.

The senior BJP leader said that India has grown strong in stature and is capable of giving a firm response to its enemy countries if intimidated.

"Being the Defence Minister, I would like to mention that India is not weak anymore. It has become a strong nation. We do not challenge anyone. But if anyone challenges us we respond strongly. This is ingrained in our soldiers," the Raksha Mantri said.

Highlighting that the country is not as import-dependent on defence items as it used to be earlier, Singh said, "We used to import almost every defence item from other nations. Today bombs, tanks, missiles, and fighter planes are manufactured here after PM Modi came to power. We are exporting our defence items to other nations."Speaking about the simultaneous polls in the state, Singh said, "You (people of Andhra Pradesh) are very lucky that in Andhra Pradesh, Parliament and Assembly elections are happening simultaneously. When Parliament and Assembly elections happen simultaneously, time and resources can be saved and development will get a push.

Advocating the idea of holding simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and all the Assemblies, Singh said, "We have decided and have mentioned in our election manifesto that when we form govt in 2024, within the next 5 years, we will implement such a system so that 'One Nation, One Election' takes place."Earlier in the evening, BJP candidate CM Ramesh filed his nomination for the Anakaplli Lok Sabha constituency. Ramesh was seen participating in the public rally along with Rajnath Singh.

In the roadshow, former minister Thadhar Veerabhadra Rao, Anakapalli Janasena candidate Konatala Ramakrishna, Narsipatnam TDP candidate Chintakayala Ayyannapatra, Madugula TDP candidate Vangalapudi Anita and a host of leaders from the NDA alliance participated.

Andhra Pradesh has 25 Lok Sabha seats. In the 2019 Assembly elections, the YSRCP won with a thumping majority of 151 seats, while the TDP was confined to 23 seats. In the Lok Sabha polls, the YSRCP won 22 seats, while the TDP could only win three seats. (ANI)