Former minister and senior TDP leader, Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, on Wednesday ridiculed the opening of the Varikepudisela irrigation scheme in Palnadu district by Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy, earlier in the day.

TDP suppremo, Nara Chandrababu Naidu, during his tenure as the chief minister of the State has granted administrative sanction for the scheme, called for tenders and even appointed an agency to take up the project works, Umamaheswara Rao told media persons at the TDP headquarters here. It took 53 months for Jagan to get the clearance for 15 hectares of land and complete the project, the former minister said and felt that the Chief Minister is now deceiving the people as elections for the State Assembly are just three months away.

Devineni Uma presented a video before the media persons in which Jagan Mohan Reddy made certain remarks in 2019 while laying the foundation for the Kadapa Steel Plant. Jagan said at that time that “if coconut is broken six months before the elections it is called cheating while the same coconut is broken within six months of coming to power that is called commitment and this is the difference in administration.”

Now, Jagan should answer as to why he is breaking the coconut just three months before the elections, he asked. The Chief Minister, who has said that breaking a coconut when the term of the Government is coming to an end is nothing but cheating, should realise the fact that the script of the Almighty is hitting him back, Devineni Uma remarked.

Jagan is getting himself exposed by claiming that he has commitment, he added. As Chandrababu called for the tenders to complete the Vadikapudisela project, Jagan with mere political vendetta cancelled the tenders, he said and asked is this the commitment of Jagan.

Since the term of the current Government and Jagan are out in three months, he should clarify how he will complete the project in six months, Uma asked. As the State Government failed to pay Rs 3.5 cr for the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the drought relief schemes in Palnadu district, the agency stopped the works, he stated.

While Chandrababu during his tenure as the chief minister appointed the agency with an estimated cost of Rs 298 cr, now Jagan as if he has achieved something got the permission for Rs 308 cr, Devineni Uma said. Had Jagan allowed the same agency which Chandrababu has appointed, the project works would have been completed within two-and-half years and the Palnadu district would have got the irrigation water, he felt.

Observing that 440 mandals in the State are reeling under severe drought, Jagan is enjoying in the Tadepalle palace and is deriving vicious pleasure by ordering for registering false cases, Umamaheswara Rao said. “I am ready to present the details of the statistics for Rs 68,000 cr spent by Chandrababu for the irrigation sector,” he said and asked whether Jagan is ready to come out with the details on Rs 32,000 cr that he has been claiming to have spent on the irrigation sector in the past four-and-half years.

Also, Devineni Uma dared Jagan and Chief Secretary, Jawahar Reddy, to publish a white paper with all the details on lakhs of crore that he has been claiming to have released into the accounts of the people through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme. The TDP senior leader strongly believes that if all the facts on the DBT scheme come to light Minister for Finance, Buggana Rajendranath Reddy, and the officials of the Finance Department will certainly go to jail.