Andhra CM responded to Nandi awards Controversy

Amaravati, Nov 21: Following the controvrsy over Nandi awards, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has reacted to the criticism over the selection of the awardees.

The government would have conducted an IVRS survey to elicit public opinion if there was any clue that the selection would snowball into controversy. The government would have announced awards based on the survey results. "It is unfortunate a caste tinge is given to the awards too," he said.

The issue came up for discussion at a strategy meeting held at Secretariat. Mr. Naidu said that he never expected that the awards would trigger so much controversy. Also, the government should not have announced the awards for three years at one go, he felt.

TDP national general secretary and IT Minister Nara Lokesh said that the NRAs, who neither have aadhaar cards nor voter cards in Andhra Pradesh, were talking about Nandi awards and special status to Andhra Pradesh.

The NRAs sitting in Hyderabad were making baseless allegations against the government. It was unfortunate that some of the jury members were also criticising the selection.