Amaravati, Nov 15 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said that the blunders and crimes committed by the previous government and the heavy debts raised by it have now become a curse for the State.

The previous ruling dispensation created a history of looting the State with its inefficient administration, anti-development policies, ransacking the public properties, heavy taxes and introducing schemes only to resort to scams, the Chief Minister said in the state Assembly.

Making it clear that no wonders will take place overnight, Chandrababu felt that more attention needs to be paid to fulfil the expectations of the people.

"With the assistance of the Centre, we have saved the State which was on ventilation and is moving forward by building brick by brick," Chandrababu Naidu said explaining in detail the destruction caused to the State by the previous government and the total amount of debts raised and the crimes committed by that ruling dispensation.

Stating that the people are the ultimate decision-makers in a democracy, the CM said that the primary responsibility of the ruling party is to work for the people.

The people have given a historic verdict in the last elections. Chandrababu Naidu said that an appeal has been made to the voters that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) should win the polls if people have to become victorious. The voters have come forward to elect the NDA with a fond hope that the State will march in a progressive path, he said.

Recalling Deputy Chief Minister, Pawan Kalyan's appeal to ensure that the anti-incumbency votes are not divided, Chandrababu said that the NDA received 93 per cent strike rate as the BJP too has joined hands. "This is a classic example of how the people reposed faith in all of us and 100 per cent we will stand by them to keep the promises made to them," he remarked.

The TDP President said even in 1995 when he was the Minister for Finance before becoming the Chief Minister, the situation in the combined State at that time too was not so bad. “Taking it as a challenge we had taken certain new initiatives then in the administration," he said.

He recalled that when the State was bifurcated in 2014 there was absolutely no revenue to the residual Andhra Pradesh. Such was the situation that doubts were expressed if salaries and pensions would be paid on time. The TDP and the BJP together contested the polls in 2014 and the then government strived hard with the close cooperation of the people and had overcome the 22.5 million units power scarcity too, he said.

Making it clear that the power tariff was not revised even once in those five years, the Chief Minister said that the State had no capital after the bifurcation. The farmers voluntarily came forward to donate 33,000 acres for constructing the capital city while 72 per cent of Polavaram works have been completed, Chandrababu said. Had the TDP back in power in 2019, the project would have been completed by 2021.

Alleging that the previous government had looted the State and caused destruction in a novel way, Chandrababu Naidu said that he never expected that a politician could easily escape after plundering the State so heavily. That ruling dispensation resorted to a misinformation campaign that lakhs of crores need to be spent to build Amaravati, he said.

This is a self-financing project and about 10,000 acres is still surplus and if this land is sold with that money the capital city can be built, he said. Regretting that with the inefficiency of the previous government, the per capita income has come down drastically while the per capita expenditure has gone up steeply, he pointed out that the growth rate which was 13.5 per cent in 2018-19 fell to 10.6 per cent by 2023-2024.

Assuring the House that the State Government will certainly implement all the Super-Six promises, Chandrababu Naidu said that in addition to that more welfare schemes and programmes will be implemented.

The Chief Minister also said that separate legislation will be enacted to deal firmly with the social media psychos and expressed shock at whether those who resort to posting highly objectionable comments on their own mother can be called humans at all. "How those who resort to assassinating their own mother's character can be called political leaders," Chandrababu asked.

The Chief Minister informed the Assembly that 300 acres have been allocated for the drone hub, while necessary land has been allotted for the railway zone. "Very soon foundation will be laid by the Prime Minister and house-warming will be organised in December for one lakh houses. House-sites of two cents in urban areas and three cents in rural areas will be allotted to the eligible beneficiaries," the Chief Minister added.