The previous YSR Congress government looted the exchequer to promote Sakshi media group, alleged chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu. He said that the government had spent Rs 205 crore from the state finances to promote the Sakshi paper.
He further alleged that the government had paid Rs 443 crore to Sakshi for advertisements. This was more than the money paid to all other newspapers and media houses, he said. The YSR Congress government had worked for the Sakshi group only, he said.
He also alleged that the Jagan Mohan Reddy government did not give any advertisements to some newspapers. He ignored some newspapers only on political grounds, he alleged. He said that the five years of Jagan Mohan Reddy government was totally run-on vengeance politics. Jagan Mohan Reddy gave priority to his political vengeance than democratic governance, he said.
He said that the previous government had also stopped payment to several newspapers in the last five years. He directed the officials to clear those payments at the earliest and see that there are no dues to the media houses.
He also directed the officials to conduct enquiry into the payments made to the Sakshi in terms of purchasing the paper and releasing advertisements. The officials were directed to probe deeply into these decisions of the previous government, he said.
The Ministers at the cabinet meeting congratulated the chief minister for his initiative in helping the flood victims in Vijayawada. The ministers complimented the chief minister for staying in the district Collectorate and visiting the flood-hit areas in the knee-deep waters. They said that the chief minister had visited every nook and corner of the flood hit areas.
The Ministers also sought to advise the chief minister to pay compensation to the tenant farmers in the flood-affected areas. They said that the farmers have lost heavily in the floods and emphasized the need to help them. In most places, it was the tenant farmers who lost their crop, the ministers told the chief minister.
