Drop move to close down 8,000 schools in State, demands Naidu

‘It is a historical blunder and the TDP will oppose it tooth and nail’

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national president N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday asked the State government to drop its “move to close down about 8,000 schools.”

Addressing a public meeting at the TDP’s ‘Mini Mahanadu’ at Madanapalle, Mr. Naidu said parents and students should boycott the YSRCP leaders in their respective villages to “save the schools.”

“The move to close down schools is a historical blunder, which the TDP has resolved to oppose tooth and nail. Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has stooped to the level of destroying the future of students,” he said.

Mr. Naidu took objection to the plethora of restrictions imposed on the Amma Vodi scheme, causing despair among the poor and downtrodden students and their mothers. Closure of schools would force children to walk long distances to go to school, he added.

The TDP was always in the forefront to caution people to shun the ‘J-brand’ liquor, he said. Alleging that customers were being denied bills at wine shops, Mr. Naidu said the laboratory reports pointed to the presence of hazardous chemicals in the brands.

The State government, by mobilising ₹8 lakh crore debt, had imposed a burden of ₹7 lakh on each of the 1.5 crore families in the State, he said.

While stating that a few in the Police Department were harassing the TDP cadres, Mr. Naidu said he would take them to task after the TDP came to power.