Venkaiah Naidu criticises Rahul Gandhi on speech

VISAKHAPATNAM: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi's CII speech has proven that he is unable to find solutions at a time when the economy is in deep crisis, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader M Venkaiah Naidu said here on Monday.

Naidu, who spoke to young people about development politics and the role of the youth, said that nobody at the CII gathering was satisfied with Gandhi's speech. India's current account deficit rose to five per cent of its GDP and this, he said, is the best example of the UPA government's failure. BJP has supported separate Telangana because the development of Andhra Pradesh has come to a standstill since 2009 due to political unrest, he said.

He accused that at a time when Shivraj Singh Chouhan's BJP government pushed the development of Madhya Pradesh, every sector in Andhra Pradesh deteriorated during AP Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy's rule. "There are no power cuts in BJP-ruled states whereas there are 14-hour power cuts in Andhra Pradesh," he claimed.

Speaking about the farm crisis, Naidu said the BJP will protect farmers and ensure that they can sell their agriculture produce anywhere in India. He also appealed to the youth to elect an alternative to the Congress for efficient governance of the state and for all-round development.