HYDERABAD, September 20: After winning over leaders of business and industry in America, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu snatched an assurance from the Telugus in US on Friday for mobilising $ 25 million for Janmabhoomi scheme in the State.
Naidu elaborated on the Janmabhoomi concept at a function hosted by the Telugu literary cultural association of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut at the community centre’s new auditorium in New York, which was attended by over 1,000 Telugu families, according to an official release here. The auditorium was packed to capacity and the people who gathered heard him in rapt attention as he went on explaining the innovative reforms introduced by his government.
Naidu said that there was no example anywhere in the world where success was achieved without sustained hard work. There was a need to change the mindset of people in India, which had a large number of extremely talented people. Naidu said there were a large number of Telugus in America who werekeen to contribute to the State’s development and announced that a separate trust for Janmabhoomi programme would be formed soon to channel their donations from Jan 1, 1999.
Naidu called upon Telugu organisations in US like TANA (Telugu Association of North America) and ATA (American Telugu Association) to work as one in this regard. Earlier, the chief minister had an hour-long meeting with Dow Jones chairman and editor Peter Kann and exchanged views on the policies and development prospects of India. Kann appreciated Naidu’s leadership in guiding India into the next millennium.
The CM addressed a meeting of the Asia Society and Merril Lynch, which was received well. He addressed a meeting of IT companies organised under the auspices of NASSCOM and interacted with the editor and staff of Business Week and Forbes Global magazines. Both the magazines carried stories on the initiatives taken by Naidu in Andhra Pradesh.