Tirupati: Peddireddi slams Naidu's 'drama'

Tirupati: Minister for panchayat raja and rural development PeddiReddi Ramachandra Reddy criticised former chief minister and TDP national president N Chandrababu Naidu for "enacting a political drama" for publicity in media.

Addressing the media here on Monday, the minister said that police explained in writing the Model Code of Conduct rules which were in force in view of urban local bodies elections to him and denied the permission to him to enter the city to participate in protest in view of Act 30 as well as Section 144 of CrPC.

He said the police had requested Naidu to sit in VIP lounge, but he refused and sat on the floor as part of political drama for publicity.

Ramachandra Reddy reminded an episode during the TDP rule when their party chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy was sent back to Hyderabad from Vizag airport runway "without any courtesy".

But he claimed that circumstances were different now as TDP could not get permission from State Election Commission and police though they wanted to stage protest in violation of MCC rules in Tirupati and Chittoor cities.

The minister wondered how could "40 years industry" person Chandrababu Naidy not know the election and model code rules and why he was behaving like this in public.

He said it may be due to frustration he was indulging in such "cheap politics" to get a hype in media which supports him.