More than anybody else, it was Telugu Desam Party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu who is terribly upset with the cancellation of land allotment to UAE-based Lulu Group for construction of international convention centre, five-star hotel and a huge mall on the beach road of Visakhapatnam.
A day after the Lulu Group announced that it would not invest in Andhra Pradesh anymore, Naidu reacted strongly and blamed YSR Congress president and chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy for his “foolish decision” to scrap the project.
What is worse, he apologised to the Lulu Group on the behalf of the people of the state in general and people of Visakhapatnam in particular for the cancellation of the project.
“As an opposition leader, he can criticise the government’s decision within the state. But extending apologies to a foreign company belittling the state government is unbecoming of an experienced leader like Naidu,” a YSRC leader said.
The TDP president said his government had made a lot of efforts to bring the Lulu Group to the state and make it invest in such a big project.
“It took a lot of pitching & incessant follow-up to convince Lulu Group to invest in AP. The seed of growth was sowed. Had it taken shape, Vizag would have gained thousands of jobs that in turn would have boosted the local economy. Alas, it wasn’t to be! #LuluSaysByeByeAP,” Naidu tweeted.
He also tweeted: “With @ysjagan’s foolish decision, all efforts have been washed away. Such actions are destroying the investment climate & future of youngsters in AP. I express my deep regret to Lulu Group on behalf of the people of AP, more particularly people of Vizag #LuluSaysByeByeAP.”
