“Unlike Jagan, we don't paint our party colors and names on government-funded schemes. His lies are temporary—our truth is permanent,” Lokesh declared.

Metro India News | AMARAVATI

Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh launched a scathing attack on former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, accusing him of abandoning the public and misusing public funds during his five-year tenure. Taking to social media, Lokesh asserted that even before being elected as an MLA, he had committed himself to the welfare of the people in Mangalagiri constituency by using his personal funds to support self-employment initiatives.

“Jaganmohan Reddy spent five years in power ignoring the needs of the people and looting public money. I wasn’t even an MLA then, but as a leader of the Telugu Desam Party, which was founded for the people, I felt a responsibility toward my constituency,” said Lokesh.

He detailed several initiatives aimed at empowering various communities—women, handloom workers, goldsmiths, and small traders—by providing them with equipment and financial support. Importantly, Lokesh emphasized that all assistance was funded entirely through his personal resources, without drawing from government funds.

“Without any discrimination of caste or religion, I stood by every deserving individual,” Lokesh stated, highlighting the free training and equipment distributed under the ‘Sthree Shakti’ program.

The Sthree Shakti Centre in Mangalagiri, inaugurated on June 20, 2022, has trained 2,226 women across 43 batches, all of whom received free sewing machines and materials upon completing their training. Similar centers in Tadepalli and Duggirala—launched in February and April of 2023 respectively—trained an additional 1,282 women. In total, 3,508 women have been trained and equipped so far under the program.

“These efforts were funded from my own pocket,” Lokesh reiterated. “That’s why the sewing machines we distribute bear our party’s symbolic yellow color, signifying prosperity—not to claim credit using public money, like you did.”

He also lashed out at what he described as malicious propaganda against him on social media. “Unlike Jagan, we don't paint our party colors and names on government-funded schemes. His lies are temporary—our truth is permanent,” Lokesh declared.