Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday attacked the YSR Congress government for allegedly splurging Rs 15.65 crore of public money on Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy's "palatial home", drawing a sharp reaction from the ruling party.
The former chief minister alleged that huge amount of money was spent by the government for Jagan's residence when the State was facing a financial crisis.
Naidu also slammed Jagan over his "five months' misrule" and said the "Nero of Andhra Pradesh" is busy playing video-games at his residence.
"When Rome burned, Nero fiddled. When AP is burning under financial strain due to 5 months misrule & construction workers are ending lives, the Nero of AP @ysjagan is busy playing video-games at his palatial home on which a staggering Rs 15.65 Cr (sic) was spent by the Govt.
Shocking!" he tweeted.
The Leader of Opposition posted a snapshot of government orders purportedly issued for the expenditure.
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On Wednesday, the TDP chief had alleged that the state government allotted "a whopping Rs 73 lakh to fix windows for his (Jagan's) house."
"Now that's one super-expensive view at the expense of State exchequer! This comes at a time when Andhra Pradesh is grappling with the fiscal mess caused by mismanagement in the last 5 months. Truly cringe-worthy!", he tweeted.
Attacking the TDP chief, State Information and Public Relations Minister Perni Venkataramaiah alleged that over Rs 99 crore was spent from the government coffers for Naidu's needs when he was Chief Minister during 2014-19.
"If Rs 73 lakh expenditure, for windows fixed for security purposes is super expensive, what should the Rs 5 lakh spending on shifting a UPS from one floor to the other inside his (Naidu's) house (be) called?
Is it not criminal waste of people's money," Venkataramaiah questioned.
Another Rs 3 lakh was spent on improving lawn lighting and environmental lighting in the then Chief Minister's leased residence, he alleged.
The TDP chief's family stayed in a plush multi-star hotel for several months when their house in Hyderabad was being rebuilt. Crores of rupees of government money was spent on their stay in the hotel, the minister claimed.
Like no other Chief Minister in the country, Chandrababu Naidu maintained three offices and three camp offices (residences) in Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Amaravati, he said.
"Crores of rupees from government coffers were spent on readying and maintaining them for five years. Is he really entitled to such opulent indulgences," the minister asked.
"Certain expenditure is surely involved at Jagan Mohan Reddy's residence because of security requirements befitting the Chief Minister. You can't find fault with it," the Information Minister maintained.
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