Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu backs Modi, pitches population policy push

Mumbai: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu praised the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that only under his leadership India has the chance to become ‘number one’ in the world. Naidu, under whom Andhra Pradesh has made great strides in power generation, has now announced that he would be embarking on his ‘population management policy’, where he would encourage people to have two or more children.

“India will be number one. I am confident that this will happen; we are going to make it. This is only possible under Narendra Modi ji. Modi ji is taking the country in the right direction. I can say proudly: right time, right leader, right place — that is Narendra Modiji. He is the best performer and best reformer in the country. I am openly saying the Prime Minister is even better than me.”

The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister said that he had introduced several power sector reforms in the late 90s, and by 2004 he was able to achieve a power surplus. While he lost power in 2004, ‘the country gained momentum in the power sector’ due to his reforms.


Naidu said that he is working on a cost-effective energy sector. “Our Honourable Prime Minister has announced 500 gigawatts of green energy by 2030. In this, AP is going to contribute 160 gigawatts. We have already achieved nearly 90 gigawatts. This is the speed we are moving forward… Tomorrow, India is going to export power, electricity.”

The AP Chief Minister said that due to investments and reforms in the power sector, Andhra Pradesh has been receiving a lot of investments. “I am going to lay the foundation stone of a data center and also AI. We will clear a 1-gigawatt Reliance project. There are so many companies coming now that I am restricting projects up to 5 gigawatts,” said Naidu.

The Chief Minister spoke of the Amaravati city project and described it as “God’s capital”. “In mythology, Amaravati is described as God’s capital. Amaravati will be the people’s capital. Amaravati is the future city — green energy, net-zero concept. Anyone who wants to live longer, who wants to have a better lifespan, can come and settle here in Amaravati. We are going to build one of the best futuristic cities.”

The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, while speaking on the issue of freebies, spoke of ‘creating wealth through reform’. “One has to create wealth through reform. Without creating wealth, you cannot generate revenue; you cannot sustain the overall economy. Elections are all about winning, but if you govern properly, you may lose one election, but you will win subsequent elections because of your credibility.”

Naidu spoke on the issue of women’s reservation and said that ‘he was unable to understand’ why southern states had opposed the bill. “Home Minister Amit Shah had clearly stated that enhancement of seats would go up for all states uniformly by 50 per cent. What is the problem? I am unable to understand,” said the Chief Minister.

Speaking about his upcoming ‘population management’ policy that his government would be pushing, Naidu said that he would appeal to all Indians to have more children, or else there was a possibility that ‘people would end up working for machines’.