Jagan focus on publicity but not flood victims: Lokesh

Ads released on sand amid rain havoc in State

Jagan rule bringing not rains but devastation

AMARAVATI (prajaamaravati): TDP National General Secretary Nara Lokesh on Sunday strongly criticised Chief Minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy for attending 'marriage functions' while floods were causing widespread devastation in Rayalaseema area and Nellore district.

Lokesh said that tens of people have died, hundreds have gone missing and thousands of crores of property was lost in the rain havoc. It was inhuman on the part of the Chief Minister not to respond at a time when the people were suffering a great deal due to the breached tanks, marooned villages and dangerously overflowing rivers.

In a statement here, Nara Lokesh asked how Jagan Reddy could release front page jacket advertisements with his own smiling photos without showing any sensibility towards the woes of the flood victims. After seeing the CM's mania for publicity ads, the people were getting doubts whether Jagan Reddy was sane and conscious of his responsibility.

Lokesh strongly objected to the manner in which the Jagan Reddy Government gave ads on availability of quality sand to all sections of people in the State at a time when the people were struggling with floods. Crores of public money was being wastefully spent on this needless publicity.

Nara Lokesh said that during the TDP regime, advance alerts used to be sounded at the village level in times of cyclone and flood threats. There used to be 'real time monitoring' on weather and all aspects of governance. Mobile alerts used to be sent in advance when there were threats of thunderbolts in any area. Information was sent to the VRO level in rural areas.

Lokesh termed it as tragic on the part of the YSRCP regime for not having made minimum effort to alert the general public in the flood-hit areas. They were giving sole focus to the politics of mud slinging but not to rescuing the flood victims. This Government was ignoring even the meteorological warnings and simply turning indifferent even to immediate problems.

Nara Lokesh advised the YSRCP leaders to stop chanting 'bhajans' that rains were occurring just because Jagan Reddy was in power in the State. Instead, the ruling party leaders should admit now that all the floods, devastation and loss of life and property was because of Jagan Reddy's cursed rule. The submergence of Tirumala-Tirupati was the immediate example for the destruction that CM Jagan's leg would bring wherever it landed.