Babu goes the Chiranjivi way, says YSRCP

Vijayawada:The YSR Congress Party here on Friday predicted that the Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu was going the Chiranjivi way to strengthen the ruling Congress party. Speaking to the media, the YSR Congress farmers' wing State convener, MVS Nagi Reddy, said that the TD chief was trying to weaken the Telugu Desam at the cost of the ruling Congress. He recalled that the film star, K Chiranjeevi, who had launched Praja Rajyam Party before the 2009 elections finally merged it with the Congress to become Union Minister. Similarly, Chandrababu Naidu was also trying to weaken the TD and thus help the ruling Congress retain power in the 2014 elections, he said. He observed that Naidu who started his political career with the Congress party was trying to give it back to the Congress at the end of his career. Naidu, by keeping away from the present Assembly session and also not being part of the no confidence motion against the government was part of the grand strategy that he had agreed during his secret meeting with the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, he alleged. When asked why the TD chief wanted to strengthen the ruling Congress, the YSR Congress leader said that Chandrababu Naidu was afraid of the cases pending against him. He said that the TD chief had an understanding with the Congress government at the Centre on bailing him out from corruption cases. In return, he said that the TD chief was trying to protect the Congress government in the State. He found fault with the Opposition leader from keeping away from the budget session of the Assembly. He wondered how a responsible Opposition leader like Naidu can be away from the Assembly when it was a budget meet. He wanted to know whether the Opposition leader's presence in the House was needed or not when the budget was being presented and debated. He asked the TD chief to justify his action to be away from the Assembly proceedings. Nagi Reddy said that the YSR Congress Party and the Telangana Rastra Samiti tabled no confidence motion against the government for its failures and to protect the interests of people, particularly the farmers. He said that the farmers in the State were facing tough time with their produce not fetching minimum support price (MSP) on the one hand and the power crisis on the other. He said that the farmers were being forced to resort to distress sale of their produce as the government was not in position to come to their rescue. The paddy, chillies, cotton and spices farmers were facing problems in selling their produce as they were not paid the MSP and the traders were having a field day in the market, in the absence of the government.