Go hard on TRS, soft on BJP

Vijayawada: The Telugu Desam Party had decided to go tough on Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and go soft on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The party chief N Chandrababu Naidu had asked the Telangana TDP leaders to hit the TRS government hard and expose the government’s failure on various fronts.

• The TDP chief cautions party cadre against going tough on BJP and tells them not to get carried away by the emotional provocations
• Politburo decides to pressurise the Centre and the river boards for AP’s share on river waters rather than opposing the projects taken up by Telangana

Though Naidu and the AP leaders wanted to be vociferous on the irrigation projects taken up by the Telangana government, the TTDP leaders have cautioned the leadership as that would further damage the party in Telangana.

Conceding their requests, Naidu had decided to mount more pressure on the Central government and also make clear claims on the lower riparian rights. The politburo had decided to fight with the Central government and the river boards for AP’s share on river waters rather than opposing the projects taken up by the Telangana government.

The Chief Minister had also directed the TTDP leaders to launch an intensive campaign against the TRS government particularly on issues like handling the prevailing drought conditions.

He had briefed the TTDP leaders about the initiatives of the AP government to handle the drought condition and asked them to launch a campaign drawing comparison between the two governments.

The TDP National president also advised them to strengthen the party base in Telangana and enrol more members. He also directed them to complete the organisational polls in the State and attend the party’s Mahanadu to be held in Tirupati in the last week of May.

The TTDP leaders wanted the party chief to give one Rajya Sabha seat to the State as that would help them win the confidence of the people of Telangana. While not committing on the request, Naidu had asked them to win the confidence of the people by highlighting the TRS government’s failures.

When the issue of giving special status for the State came up for discussion, some of the leaders from AP wanted the party chief to go hard on BJP and expose the leadership and the Central government for its failure to help the State.

They cited the statements of some BJP leaders from AP on the State government and felt that the TDP should also give counter in equal tone. However, Naidu cautioned them against going tough on BJP and the Central government.

Instead, he wanted them to explain to the people the efforts of the government in pleasing the Central government to get the funds and special category status. He wanted the TDP leaders to create awareness among the people on the number of visits that he had made to Delhi and the number of appeals he had made in the last two years.

“We have to be very cautious and not to get carried away by the emotional provocations. All that we need for the State is to get funds and special category status. Let us get them while continuing friendly relationship with the BJP. Let us not break the alliance,” Naidu advised the leaders.

The Chief Minister took a dig at the party leaders for not countering the Opposition leader Y S Jaganmohan Reddy’s recent visit to Delhi.

He felt that the counter from the government and the party should have been more vocal. He asked the leaders to take on the Opposition leader in the next couple of weeks, particularly in the light of Jagan’s three-day deeksha in Kurnool.