Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday asserted that a poverty-free society is his life’s ambition and the P-4 programme was launched to achieve the objective of zero poverty.
Addressing the main official function in Vijayawada on the occasion of the Telugu New Year ‘Ugadi’, Naidu emphasised that wealth should not be concentrated in the hands of a few. A just society is possible when everyone has access to quality education, healthcare, and economic opportunities, he said.
The Chief Minister launched the Margadarshi – Bangaru Kutumbam Zero Poverty (P4) initiative. His vision is that wealthy individuals should support the poor, and 10 per cent of society’s elite should voluntarily uplift the bottom 20 per cent. He called on Telugu people to become global role models in philanthropy.
He claimed that in the last nine months, the NDA government made all its decisions with the “People First” approach. While focusing on welfare and development, the government is also attracting investments. It introduced WhatsApp Governance, making government services accessible to citizens without the need to visit offices.
Stating that a Rs 3.22 lakh crore budget was presented for 2025-26 despite financial constraints, he wished that people’s income grows so that their living standards improve, making them happy and healthy.
Naidu criticised the previous government, saying that Andhra Pradesh suffered heavily in the last five years. He claimed that problems created by the past administration were unprecedented in his long political career.
Recalling that he built the HITEC City in Hyderabad to promote IT, providing jobs to thousands of youth, he said that all of them are now settled either in the country or abroad.
“I promoted IT then, and now I am talking about AI and Quantum Valley. Similarly, when I promoted mobile phones at that time, some people made fun of it. The situation now is that we cannot move forward without cell phones. If these cell phones are properly used, radical changes can be witnessed in life, but problems will arise if they become an addiction,” he maintained.
He said that he shares the same vision as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan to make Andhra Pradesh and India stronger. He prayed that India become a global leader, with Telugu people playing a crucial role in the country’s progress.
The Chief Minister pointed out that Indian culture and traditions are unique and must be preserved. “Forgetting history means losing our identity. Ugadi reminds us of Pachadi (a traditional festive dish) and Panchanga Sravanam,” he said and recalled that, in his childhood, villagers used to sit together and listen to the Panchanga recitation.
(IANS)
