Buried the hatchet with Cong to safeguard democracy
Hyderabad: Telugu Desam Party chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday said that he had set aside the 37-year-old rivalry with the Congress and extended an olive branch to it to protect democracy and the nation.
Naidu, taking part in a road show here, exuded confidence that the People’s Front will win all the seats in Hyderabad. He said he tried to persuade Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao to join hands with him in the interests of the Telugu people of the two States, but the latter remained adamant.
The TDP president trained guns at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and KCR stating that they were trying to intimidate the workers of the People's Front. AICC president Rahul Gandhi, who joined Naidu in the road show in Jubilee Hills, sought the support of voters for the alliance candidate Vishnuvardhan Reddy. Also present on the campaign vehicle were CPI general secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy.
Naidu said that it was during his tenure as the Chief Minister of the undivided AP that drinking water problem to Hyderabad had been addressed. “We could get Manjira and Krishna waters to the city,” he said. Describing KCR as an incompetent Chief Minister, Naidu said if the State’s finances were properly handled, there was no need for going in for borrowings. “Hyderabad and Cyberabad are like golden geese. What did KCR do with them?” he asked, pointing out that it was KCR who could not complete even one irrigation project.
Denying the accusations that he tried to stall irrigation projects, Naidu said “I want Telugus of the two States to live happily with a sense of camaraderie.” Naidu said KCR was unleashing a torrent of invective against him, but he should know that the more he tried to abuse him the more the number of votes he was going to lose. Referring to BJP dispensation at Delhi, Naidu said that no section had benefited from it. “Has Modi kept his promise of flushing out black money hoarded in Swiss Banks?” he asked.