People enjoying fruits of reforms initiated by former Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee, says Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu

Declaring that development would continue irrespective of the obstacles, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday said he had the privilege of being in politics and working with towering leaders such as former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the past, but was now being forced to contend with “petty elements” opposed to growth.

“Despite efforts by many to create hurdles, the march of development will not stop,” Mr. Naidu asserted, strongly defending the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model and questioning the mindset of those who threatened jail for those involved in building medical colleges under the model.

Speaking after unveiling the statue of the former Prime Minister at Venkatapalem in the Amaravati capital region, along with Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the Chief Minister said Vajpayee’s reforms had become the central pillar of India’s development.

Later, Mr. Naidu addressed a public meeting on the occasion of Vajpayee’s birth centenary, observed as Good Governance Day, and released a postal stamp featuring the former Prime Minister.

Mr. Naidu said December 25 was a historic day as it marked the birth anniversary of a visionary statesman, who had introduced the country to transparent and humane governance. He recalled Vajpayee’s role in laying strong foundation for national highways, airport expansion, telecom deregulation and the knowledge economy, stating that Indians were enjoying world-class roads and connectivity because of those reforms.

He noted that the Golden Quadrilateral highway project had first been launched on the Tada–Chennai stretch, and that telecom deregulation paved the way for rapid growth, now being taken forward through the 4G revolution under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. He also recalled Vajpayee’s leadership during the Kargil conflict and India’s emergence as a nuclear power.

The Chief Minister announced that memorial parks would be developed to permanently commemorate TDP founder and former Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, ensuring their contributions remained alive in public memory.

Highlighting the PPP model, Mr. Naidu said wealth creation and quality infrastructure were possible only through such partnerships, as proven over the last three decades. He said the PPP projects, including roads, airports and medical colleges, would ultimately remain under government ownership after the concession period.

Union Ministers Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma and Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar, BJP State president P.V.N. Madhav, and State Ministers Satya Kumar Yadav, P. Narayana and Kandula Durgesh were among those present. A large number of TDP, BJP and Jana Sena Party workers and public attended the programme.