Says with Rs 3,08,732, it has recorded highest per capita income beating the likes of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka

Hyderabad: Much to the dismay of those who have been alleging that Telangana lagged behind in development, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said it has emerged to new heights in the last 10 years.

In terms of per capita income (PCI) in large States, Telangana was leading the chart in the country, he said.

With Rs 3,08,732, it recorded the highest PCI beating the likes of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka, Naidu said. Andhra Pradesh had recorded a PCI of Rs 2,19,518, he said at NTR Bhavan here on Sunday.

“Telangana has got a good base and foundation. The current government has a good opportunity to take it to a next level,” he stressed.

Telangana and Andhra Pradesh got separated in 2014. In the last 10 years, the difference in PCI between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh was 35 per cent and it was mainly due to Hyderabad.

After relentless hardwork by the Telugu Desam government in AP from 2014 to 2019, the difference came down 27.5 per cent. Again after a destructive government came to power in Andhra Pradesh, the difference increased to 44 per cent, he pointed out.

“More than bifurcation, bad governance in the last five years resulted in severe loss to Andhra Pradesh. Had the same governance continued, the difference in PCI would have increased to 100 per cent,” he added.

In Telangana, the development, which began with HITEC City, paved the way for Hyderabad and Telangana to emerge as the number one State in the country. That was the commitment of the TDP, he said, adding: “Yesterday (Saturday), while coming to Hyderabad in flight, I saw HITEC City and felt very happy.”

In the past, when plans were made by the TDP government to lay eight lanes across the Outer Ring Road (ORR), many ridiculed the idea. Similarly, efforts were made to get the international airport at Shamshabad.

“People may not recall, but the work I have done makes me feel happy,” Naidu said.

After the Telugu Desam government, three Chief Ministers served and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi came to power after bifurcation and served for 10 years, but the imprints were not damaged.

Now, Congress came back to power and is striving to develop the State under the leadership of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, he said.

The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister thanked Revanth Reddy for responding positively to an appeal for conducting a meeting to address the long-pending bifurcation issues.

“There will be differences between the Telugu States but when an outsider invades, we Telugu people exhibit brotherhood. That unity should continue and save Telugu interests and the language,” Naidu said, stressing that this was the main agenda of the TDP.

A few people were of the opinion that continuing differences would augur well for the two States. On the contrary, it would not fetch water and development would be hindered.

Many issues can be resolved through dialogue by respecting the feelings of the people from Rayalaseema, Telangana and Uttarandhra, he said.

“Both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are equally important and will be at the forefront to protect in the interests of the two Telugu States,” Naidu said.

Congress is ruling in Telangana and an NDA government has come to power in Andhra Pradesh. Two different governments and there would be different ideologies, but in the better interest of the Telugu States, discussions should be held and the long-pending issues should be resolved, he said.

“In the past, when we envisioned vision 2020, many criticised and a few dubbed it as 420 vision. Now, I assure you that India will emerge as the top country by 2047. Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks of Viksit Bharat and in this initiative, the contribution of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh should be the highest,” Naidu said.