Andhra Pradesh Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy on Monday said that journalists should fact-check truth before publishing or broadcasting a news, as he refuted the claim allegedly being made by Chandrababu Naidu that TDP has swept panchayat polls in the Minister’s native village Brahmanapalle. The Minister said that it is appalling for an experienced person like Naidu to allegedly make false statements without evidence.
At a time when several political parties in the state have been making tall claims of winning many seats in the panchayat elections, Goutham Reddy refuted the claims made by TDP chief that the party won in his native village Brahmanapalle.
"In my native village Brahmanapalle, the YSRCP flag has posted victory with a massive majority. If your party has really won in my village, please produce the proof," the Minister said.
He alleged that the TDP did not even contest the elections at Brahmanapalle village in Nellore district.
"You (TDP) could not even find a candidate to fight the election in my village. We laughed at your (Chandrababu) statements in the newspapers," noted the Minister.
Goutham Reddy said that the TDP national president's 40 years' experience in politics may be useful to bluff but not for the development of the state's people.
He asserted that the ruling YSRCP made electoral exploits not only in Brahmanapalle in Atmakuru constituency, which he represents, but has also been bursting into several TDP bastions, questioning if Naidu didn't hear about these developments.
Substantiating his claim about Brahmanapalle, Goutham Reddy produced the official declaration of the victory, along with a photograph of the winner.
"Are you (Chandrababu) stunned that 90 per cent of the panchayats are won by us? For your awareness, I am attaching the official declaration of Brahmanapalle winner. Please check properly and rectify," claimed the Minister.
Naidu had claimed that the party won 1,033 sarpanch posts in the second phase. YSRCP went a step further to create a website, to tabulate the victories district-wise.
Meanwhile, two more phases of panchayat elections are due, even as the notification for urban local bodies has been issued on Monday.
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