Former minister Vasanta booked for threatening panchayat secretary
Vijayawada/Amaravati: Senior YSRCP leader and former home minister Vasanta Nageswara Rao on Monday made it clear that he had not threatened panchayat secretary Narasimha Rao of Guntupalli village in Ibrahimpatnam over cell phone during the conversation that took place on Sunday. He alleged that some TDP leaders were trying to malign his image.
He said he had been in politics for the last 40 years and never insulted and humiliated any government employee. He spoke to the media at the State party office here after a case of threatening a government employee (panchayat secretary of Guntupalli village) has been registered against him by Ibrahimpatnam police on Sunday.
He was booked for threatening and obstructing the work of a government servant. Nageswara Rao said the panchayat secretary was known to him for a long time and they belong to the same caste. The audio tape with conversation between Vasanta Nageswara Rao and panchayat secretary created a sensation in the state.
Nageswara Rao alleged that his audio conversation with Narasimha Rao was fabricated and released to the media to book a case against him. “I have worked many years with Kodela Sivaprasada Rao, Ch Ayyannapatrudu, Gorantla Bucchaiah Chowdary and many others and they know me well," he added. He said, “I feel very sad that I have been booked in a case at the age of 72.”
The former home minister dared the TDP government to prove that he had threatened the secretary that he would kill him during the conversation on phone. Nageswara Rao also made some comments against Water Resources Minister Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao during the conversation with the secretary.
Alleging that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu was involved in the Cash-for-Vote case in Telangana, Vasanta termed the incident as a shameful act in democracy. He wondered why Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu failed to act when the TDP leaders tried to attack Transport Commissioner N Balasubramanyam in Vijayawada.
He alleged that faction politics entered Nandigama after Devineni family entered the area. Rift between Mylavaram TDP MLA Devineni Umamaheswara Rao and family of Vasanta Nageswara Rao widened in recent months as they had been trying to gain supremacy in Mylavaram and Nandigama Assembly constituencies. The two families have strong hold in the area and both are trying to strengthen their base in view of the ensuing Assembly elections.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu reacted sharply over the alleged threatening remarks made by for minister and YSRCP leader Vasantha Nageswara Rao against Water Resources Minister Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao during a teleconference with the TDP leaders on Monday morning. Chandrababu Naidu warned that he will not tolerate such threats.