Machilipatnam (Andhra Pradesh): Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leaders and former ministers Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao and Kollu Ravindra on Monday criticised the YSR Congress Party government's decision to cancel the contract for the development of the Machilipatnam port.
At a press conference here in the evening, Rao lamented the way the Andhra Pradesh government had issued a midnight order last Thursday, dropping Navayuga group as the developer of the port in Machilipatnam.
The TDP leader said that the order had been issued without the order number and the copy was marked to the district collector of Guntur instead of Krishna. He alleged that the state government was in a hurry to shift the port outside Machilipatnam.
Rao pointed out that the previous TDP government cleared the hurdles in acquiring the land for the Machilipatnam port and kick-started the construction work in February. He said that Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy should offer clarity on the future course of the port project.
Ravindra said that then chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy wanted to shift the port from Machilipatnam. But, he added that, the people of the Krishna district staged protests against the plans of the Congress government.
Ravindra alleged that Jagan Mohan Reddy, who is YSR Reddy's son, was also making similar plans now to hand over the port to the Telangana government.
The TDP leader asked the state government to reveal the details of the construction plans to clarify who would construct the Machilipatnam port.
Also Read: Decisions on J&K internal: India to China