Nara Lokesh – A Key Minister in the AP Government, Projected as a Future Chief Minister . Such a leader should be extremely careful. Everyone knows how much his image was damaged during the five years of YSRCP’s rule. Yet, Nara Lokesh made objectionable remarks in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council, which is regarded as the upper house. On Tuesday, YSRCP woman MLC Varudu Kalyani raised a question in the Council about the privatization of Vizag Steel Plant. Lokesh mentioned that it was not being privatized and also spoke about the fact that the Centre had sanctioned ₹11,400 crores for the revival of the plant. At the same time, when the woman member posed her question, Nara Lokesh made an inappropriate remark, saying: “What did you pluck? What did you pluck in five years?” Senior leader and former minister Botsa Satyanarayana objected to this. He demanded that Nara Lokesh either withdraw his remarks or have them expunged from the records.
Still, Lokesh said that nobody would believe YSRCP if they spoke about insulting women, recalling how his own mother was insulted in the past. Even TDP leaders themselves felt that the way Minister Nara Lokesh responded to a woman member’s question was not at all appropriate. They said that using such language in the House, even if it was meant to strongly counter YSRCP, was not correct. On the other hand, Lokesh also made strange remarks regarding Kia. While it is true that the establishment of that industry in Anantapur district brought development to the region, the figures he quoted shocked not only officials but also TDP leaders. Lokesh claimed that before Kia came, the per capita income was ₹70,000, and after Kia’s arrival, it had increased to ₹2.3 lakhs. However, he conveniently did not mention the total concessions granted to that industry. If, as Lokesh says, a single Kia industry could have such an impact on per capita income, then an IAS officer commented that with the industries he plans to bring, Andhra Pradesh would go places in the coming days. TDP leaders themselves are of the opinion that in a single day, Lokesh ended up scoring two self-goals with his remarks on these two issues.