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I am not aspiring to be PM: Naidu

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has stated that he was not aspiring to become prime minister even as he held the National Democratic Alliance Government at the Centre responsible for the slow progress of his state.

''I am not aspiring for New Delhi...I know my limitations. If I produce a good model for the 77 million people of my state, that is enough. If I change the scenario, that is the biggest service for the country,'' he told an audience at a reception hosted in his honour in Abu Dhabi.

Naidu, who is in the United Arab Emirates on a three-day visit at the invitation of the Government of Dubai, regretted that the ambitious and speedy development of Andhra Pradesh was being hindered by apathy and a slow response from the central government.

''The government is not in a position to understand us. There are 500 requests pending with the Government of India relating to various proposals and this is blocking development,'' local newspapers quoted him as saying, when asked why there were no direct flights from the UAE to Hyderabad.

The chief minister said, ''Many airlines, such as Emirates, want to fly to Hyderabad and we are asking the Centre for reciprocal flights. We will continue to fight with the federal government.''

Despite criticism from some quarters in his state, Naidu said the people re-elected him because he gave Andhra Pradesh a different direction and created competition among states.

''Other states and even the federal government are replicating my experience and chief ministers of some states are talking of reforms with a human face. My work will speak and I will get elected. After we had a Vision 2020, the Centre is also preparing one,'' he said.

Naidu, who is accompanied by some key ministers, is to address the Conference of Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development, a forum of developed nations, in Dubai on Tuesday.

In Abu Dhabi, he met important UAE leaders and discussed proposals for co-operation between the UAE and the state government.

At his meeting with Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, chief of Aabu Dhabi crown prince's court and chairman of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Naidu expressed his desire to have the proposed hospital project, bearing the name of UAE President Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nayan, in Andhra Pradesh.

The project, regarded as a testimony to the love and affection of the sheikh for India and its people, was proposed in the wake of the UAE president's official visit to India in 1992.

Referring to possible tie-ups of his state with the newly-launched Dubai Internet City, the chief minister said, ''We are working on an understanding on collaboration in it technology, knowledge, economy and various issues.''

He declared that his government wanted to make Hyderabad the IT-enabled hub of not just India but the world. ''We are working with Dubai for co-operation in the IT sector and with Abu Dhabi at the ministerial level on various issues,'' he added.

UNI

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