TDP win a historical necessity: Naidu

Visakhapatnam: Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday said that a TDP win in Seemandhra and Telangana was a historic necessity for the development of both the regions.

He was addressing a huge gathering, which turned up for the sixth Praja Garjana at the Indira Priyadarshini Municipal Corporation Stadium. Urging the gathering to vote in their favour, he said that the TDP would muster enough strength to dictate terms to Delhi and get their due share of economic support , he stated.

Even the capital city of Seemandhra would be decided by the TDP once it comes to power, he thundered. "What have Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi done except dividing us into Seemandhra and Telangana? Digvijay Singh and Jairam Ramesh are acting as obedient servants. The Congress will be wiped out in the entire Seemandhra region," he said. The TDP president reiterated that it was he who had developed Hyderabad and not KCR or Congress.

"I did after NTR first put Hyderabad on the world map and gave a vibrant identity to Telugu speaking people across the globe. I sought justice for Seemandhra. If the State had to be united, I urged them to talk to Telangana people. You need not bother about capital promises being made by Jairam Ramesh. The TDP would win and settle the capital," he said

Chandrababu Naidu also explained that he was not hankering for power. He twice spurned the offer of Prime Minister's post during the United Front regime at the Centre, saying that he was more concerned about development of his State.

"They offered ten Cabinet posts. But I said all I wanted was development of Andhra Pradesh," he claimed.

Naidu said that Visakhapatnam was a jewel that could be flaunted across the east coast. It was the financial capital of Andhra Pradesh and second only to Mumbai, he stated.

There was need to develop a Visakhapatnam-Chennai Corridor. Recalling the great sons of soil from the region, the TDP president said that he would strive to install the statue of Alluri Seetharama Raju, who had dared the British Might. Without naming them, he narrated the story of a father and his son who had collectively looted people's money. He also scoffed at former Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy’s claims about his newly floated party, which, Naidu claimed, would do precious little. Meanwhile, in a major boost to the party, former Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao, MLAs Panchakarla Ramesh Babu, Avanaiti Srinivasa Rao, Ch Venkataramaiah and Kanna Babu joined it along with their supporters on the occasion.

Trimurthulu back in TDP

Hyderabad: Congress MLA Thota Trimurthulu on Wednesday joined the TDP in the presence of party President N Chandrababu Naidu at the latter’s residence.

The three time MLA started his political career in Congress and was elected as MLA in 1994 elections. He joined the TDP before 1999 election and won the seat. However, he was defeated in 2009 by Congress candidate Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose while he wrested the seat in the 2012 by-election.

Ayyanna’s jibe at turncoats

Visakhapatnam: Senior leader of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and former minister Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu, who made no secret of his dislike towards Ganta Srinivasa Rao and his supporters joining the party, took a jibe at the latter in the ‘Praja Garjana’ here on Wednesday night.

His remarks that “he was not sure how long the people who joined today would stay in the party” but the workers always stood by the TDP like a rock appeared so deliberate that even TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu looked up at Patrudu.

Needless to say, Ganta was upset about the remark which was repeated by Patrudu and he was seen immediately rising from his seat and talking animatedly with Rajya Sabha member and politburo member Garikapati Rammohan Rao on the dais.