TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu has said that party and family were different and even a family member who was a party functionary should stick to party discipline.
When media persons asked Naidu about reports of Hari Krishna distancing himself from the party, Naidu said party and family were two different things and party affairs were totally different from family members having lunch together. Without answering the question directly, he said that even family members should abide by the party discipline if they wish to be functionaries of the party.
It may be mentioned here that Nandamuri Hari Krishna expressed his displeasure over the party sending Devender Goud and C M Ramesh to the Rajya Sabha. He is said to have commented that the TDP had become a party of businessmen.
Chandrababu Naidu cut a cake in the Assembly lobbies commemorating the party’s anniversary. It was on March 29 in 1982 that legendary actor N T Rama Rao had announced launching of the TDP and later stormed to power in 1983 after a whirlwind tour of the State.
Naidu made a frontal attack on the YSR Congress chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. Recalling that it was widely publicized at the time of launch of PRP by Chiranjeevi that his party would sweep all the seats of Assembly except Kuppam (his constituency) and Pulivendula (YSR’s constituency), Naidu said that now it was being said that Jagan’s party would sweep the elections. He commented that no party without a strong foundation would be able to stand. He said that the YSR Congress would meet the same fate as the PRP. He also claimed that his party has stronger basement than any other party.
On the Telangana issue, Naidu said that he was discussing the matter in the party. He said that though there was Telangana sentiment, still the people have love for the TDP. Stating that Telangana was a delicate issue for his party, Naidu said that the people of the region were understanding this predicament. He alleged that Congress party was unnecessarily complicating the ‘T’ issue. He said that his party would be able to surmount the Telangana problem.
Referring to the allegations made against him, Naidu said that as Jagan Mohan Reddy had failed to prove his allegations against him, now he was indulging in a willful campaigning against him. He said that Jagan, who was neck deep in corruption charges, was trying to extricate himself from his problems through counter attack. The TDP chief said that he would not have been able to move about freely if he had erred like Jagan. He said the country was lacking good leadership. On corruption, he said that corruption in the Defence is unpardonable. He also alleged that even Vice-Chancellor posts were sold in the State. Big leaders were taking commissions in all transactions, he added.
Asked about the party debacle in Kovuru, Naidu said his party had committed a strategic error there. He recalled that after the advent of TDP, revolutionary changes had taken place in the State’s politics.
Shankar Rao meets Naidu
Dissident Congress leader and former minister Dr P. Shankar Rao met Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday and congratulated him on the occasion of the TDP anniversary. The dissident MLA meeting the Leader of Opposition has become a topic of discussion in the Assembly lobbies. (NSS)