Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday claimed that the Hyderabad Metro Rail project was his brainchild, and stated that he had fought for the project for the city.
Naidu was addressing reporters in an informal conversation in the lobby of the Legislative Assembly at Amaravati.
“It doesn’t matter if I attended the inaugural of the Metro, but no one can deny my role in getting the project for Hyderabad,” he told reporters.
He added that he had demanded that the Metro should be brought to Hyderabad, when it was confined to Bengaluru and Ahmedabad.
“The Karnataka and Gujarat governments completed the Metro Rail work in a speedy manner. Dr YS Rajasekhar Reddy delayed the process...Though I did not inaugurate the Hyderabad Metro, I have the satisfaction that Hyderabad has developed,” Naidu added.
This comes two days after Naidu's Telugu Desam Party (TDP) echoed the same sentiment.
“Naidu requested the erstwhile NDA government at the Centre to sanction Metro Rail to Hyderabad in 2003. Because of Naidu’s efforts, Hyderabad Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS) was sanctioned for Hyderabad first and later Metro Rail was approved,” party politburo member Ravula Chandrasekhar Reddy told reporters.
Naidu also said that India's 'Metro Man', Dr E Sreedharan had carried out a study on the feasibility of the Hyderabad Metro, on his request.
When asked about not getting an invite to the Global Entrepreneurial Summit (GES) being hosted at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC), Naidu pointed out that his TDP government had played a vital role in developing the area, along with the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at Shamshabad.
Last week, Leaders of the Congress and the TRS in Telangana lashed out against each other, to claim credit for the HMR.
Speaking to mediapersons, Telangana Congress President N Uttam Kumar Reddy dubbed it an “achievement of Congress”.
Hitting out against the TRS, which he claimed did not make any contribution to the project, Uttam said it was a case of ‘hard work for caterpillar, publicity for butterfly’.
Hitting back, state Animal Husbandry Minister T Srinivas Yadav spoke to media persons, and said, “After coming to power, the TRS government completed the remaining 85% of the work by resolving litigations including acquisition of land at 1,200 places to facilitate construction of Metro Rail. Are these not achievements of the TRS government?"