N. Chandrababu Naidu has completed one year in his current term as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. He spoke on a wide range of issues in an exclusive interview. Edited excerpts:
How do you see your first year of this term as CM?
Power is not new to me. But I had not expected the kind of challenges that I inherited — the damage that was inflicted on Brand Andhra Pradesh, collapse of the economy. And today, I cannot run away from these difficulties because people have put their trust in me. It’s a huge responsibility, and we need to recover slowly.
Is public finance the biggest challenge?
No, it is not just public finance. The State’s credibility was destroyed (by the previous government). There is massive debt. And they started pledging government properties for more borrowing. They diverted the money granted for 98 Central schemes, which came to a halt. Schemes such as Jal Jeevan Mission were stopped. I have given six guarantees — Super Six —(schemes such as cooking gas refill, free bus ride for women, and so on) to the people. My agenda is welfare, development, empowerment of people.
