india

Updated: Nov 07, 2019 23:23 IST

Hyderabad: Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday attacked Andhra Pradesh’s YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government for allegedly spending over Rs 15 crore on chief minister Jaganmohan Reddy’s house at a time when he said the state was staring at a financial crisis.

“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 crore was spent by the government. Shocking!” the former chief minister tweeted.

Naidu posted images of government orders purportedly showing the expenditure incurred on Jagan’s house at Tadepalli in Guntur district.

“@ysjagan’s Govt has allotted a whopping Rs. 73 LAKHS 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 AP is grappling with fiscal mess caused by mismanagement in the last 5 months. Truly cringe-worthy,” he tweeted on Wednesday.

After the YSRCP’s victory in the April state elections, Jagan was sworn in as the chief minister on May 30. Since then, his house in Guntur has undergone several modifications, including the addition of a helipad built a cost of Rs 1.89 crore, according to a government order.

However, an official from the chief minister’s officer (CMO) said on condition of anonymity that the amount spent on the CM’s residence was within the permitted limit and the modifications were carried keeping in mind the security requirements.

“In fact, certain expenditure by the government was not for the personal use of the chief minister. For example, the widening and strengthening of the road at a cost of Rs 5 crore was useful for all people, not just for the chief minister. Similarly, the amount of Rs 2.5 lakh spent on Praja Darbar is for the erection of tent and purchase of chairs for the common people who come to meet the chief minister to submit their grievances,” he said.