Andhra Minister Lokesh accuses Jagan of 'extravagant' expenditure on palaces and air travel
Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh on Tuesday accused former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy of wasting public money through "massive residential construction and extensive air travel bills" during his tenure.
Lokesh alleged that nearly Rs 500 crore was spent on palatial structures and Rs 222 crore on chartered flights.
He further criticised the previous YSRCP government for pushing Andhra Pradesh into financial distress.
"While people struggled for jobs and amenities, their (then) CM Jagan was splurging Rs 500 crore on a palace and Rs 222 crore on flying around. We're finally hearing the truth," said Lokesh in a post on 'X'.
The TDP leader alleged that the governance collapsed as money meant for welfare was channelled toward luxury-driven priorities and personal comforts during the previous YSRCP government between 2019 and 2024.
Reacting to Lokesh's allegations, the YSRCP alleged that the IT minister is propagating misinformation.
"At such a young age in politics, you have already mastered the art of becoming a con artist in spreading cooked up lies," the YSRCP said in a post on 'X'.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
