Palla flays YSRCP for obstructing development through legal cases

TDP State president Palla Srinivasa Rao has criticised the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) for its ‘systematic attempt’ to obstruct development projects that promise large-scale employment opportunities for the youth of Andhra Pradesh.

Responding to the Public Interest Litigation filed in the High Court by YSRCP Tirupati MP Maddila Gurumoorthy challenging the establishment of a Google Artificial Intelligence Hub and Data Centre in Visakhapatnam. Mr. Srinivasa Rao alleged that the litigation reflected a broader political strategy aimed at derailing investment initiatives that could generate thousands of jobs in the State.

Mr. Srinivasa Rao asserted that during the five-year tenure of the YSRCP government, the State witnessed exodus of industries. As many as 913 companies left A.P. during that period, undermining investor confidence and stalling industrial growth, he claimed.

Mr. Srinivasa Rao said the surge in investment proposals under the present government led by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had triggered ‘politically motivated attempts’ by the YSRCP to stall industrial projects through legal challenges. Former minister Gudivada Amarnath had earlier challenged the State’s land policy in court and now the present PIL against land allocations for new projects followed a similar pattern of obstruction, he added.

Mr. Srinivasa Rao alleged that more than half the companies that had entered the State between 2014 and 2019 eventually left during the YSRCP administration. Among those he listed were TCS, ancillary units linked to Kia Motors, Franklin Templeton, HSBC, Lulu Group, BR Pettie Group, APP Paper Industries, and Singapore Starliners.

Investment proposals worth nearly ₹10 lakh crore were lost resulting in unemployment among the youth. “While the previous regime spoke extensively about welfare, development remained conspicuously absent,” the TDP State president remarked. The TDP leader argued that the coalition government had managed to revive Andhra Pradesh’s battered industrial ecosystem within just 20 months.

He described the initiative to bring Google’s AI infrastructure to Visakhapatnam as a landmark development. With an estimated investment of ₹1.35 lakh crore, the proposed project aims to position the city as India’s first major AI hub, he said. Further, global technology firms such as TCS, Cognizant, and Raheja Group were also expanding their presence in the city, he added.