Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh has once again proved its mettle by retaining the first position in “Ease of Doing Business” ranking for the third consecutive year. The commerce and industry ministry on Sunday released the State Business Reform Action Plan Ranking for the year 2018-19. After the announcement of the ease of doing business ranking, a political slugfest has erupted in the state, with leaders of ruling and opposition parties claiming credit for the achievement. The ruling party proudly announced that the credit goes to the Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy while the TDP said it is because of the reforms brought in by former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. The Industries minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy said that it was the vision of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy which helped them notch the first position and he even congratulated the officials of his department over the ranking.
However, the opposition TDP claimed that it was because of Chandrababu Naidu’s efforts that the state has topped in ease of doing business ranking in India.
TDP Supremo Chandrababu Naidu said, “This is the result of the hard work and dedication of AP’s previous citizencentric government. These efforts must not go waste. The incumbent YSRCP government must set good intentions, and ensure that the tremendous potential of our state is utilized to its fullest.” He congratulated the people of the state for this achievement.
Andhra Pradesh Planning Board former vice-chairman Kutumba Rao described the achievement as a progress report on the performance of the previous Chandrababu Naidu regime during 2019.
Rao asserted that the Jagan Mohan Reddy government cannot claim credit for the latest ranking since the central government considered performance indicators during the previous regime.