Decode Politics: Why TDP has accused Jagan Mohan Reddy of ‘opulence’ over a Vizag resort

Targeting former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSRCP chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, TDP MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao has brought the focus on Rushikonda Hill in Visakhapatnam that was supposed to be developed as a tourism spot. The TDP’s Bheemili MLA and the Jana Sena Party (JSP) cadre on Sunday barged into the site and reiterated the allegation that the YSRCP when in power was developing a resort on the site, spread over 61 acres, as a “CM residence” for Jagan.

What is the row about and why is the TDP raking it up after trouncing the YSRCP in the recently concluded elections in which the YSRCP has been reduced to 11 seats in the 175-member House?

In late 2021, the YSRCP government announced that the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC)-run Haritha resort on the hill would be redeveloped as a tourist attraction. Since then, a 9.88-acre area of the resort has been out of bounds. The YSRCP-led government had claimed that the development work was going on.

Official records say the area was divided into several blocks and buildings were being constructed on the land at an estimated cost of Rs 356.4 crore. In February, former Tourism Minister R K Roja inaugurated the redevelopment project.

The TDP over the years has questioned the “secrecy” around the project and accused the YSRCP of building a “Raj Mahal” for Jagan in the guise of the project, which the party claimed violated many norms.

Weeks after storming to power, Srinivasa Rao and the supporters of the ruling dispensation stormed the site in a bid to “lift the veil of secrecy” around the project ahead of CM Chandrababu Naidu’s scheduled visit to Visakhapatnam. They also clicked pictures of the “opulence” at the site and posted them on social media.

Rao lashed