TRS wants Bharat Ratna for NTR

Hyderabad: In order to attract the Andhra voters settled in Telangana in the next elections, TRS on Saturday demanded that the Centre confer the highest civilian award 'Bharat Ratna' on NTR.

Not just that, in surprise move the party leaders lined up on Saturday at NTR Ghat at the Necklace Road and paid tributes to commemorate the beginning of birth centenary of the legendary leader N T Rama Rao. Most of them for a change were those who had migrated to TRS from TDP. They said that NTR was a legendary leader and hence they had come to pay their tributes on his centenary celebrations. Even Chief Minister KCR was an important leader in TDP before he launched TRS. They said the TRS chief had acknowledged that it was NTR who gave him an opportunity to become MLA. KCR at the recent plenary of TRS recalled how NTR had fought against the system of Raj Bhavan when he was dethroned from power "misusing" Raj Bhavan and how he had been reinstated because of the massive people's agitation which shook the then Congress government at the Centre.

The party's floor leader in Lok Sabha Nama Nageswar Rao, who paid tributes, demanded that Bharat Ratna be conferred on NTR. He said that on behalf of the party, they would raise their voice in Parliament.

He said there were two persons who should be given Bharat Ratna, NTR and PV Narsimha Rao.

"NTR was the first leader to bring revolutionary schemes to eradicate poverty among weaker sections. CM KCR is also following NTR's footsteps and providing relief to farmers and weaker sections," Nageshwara Rao said.

According to leaders, the party wants to win over the hardcore TDP workers in the state despite the party being decimated in the state during the last eight years. TRS does not want the TDP vote-bank to move over to other parties, pink party leaders said.

Among those who paid tributes to NTR were Puvvada Ajay Kumar, MLAs M Gopinath, A Gandhi, KP Vivekanand, T Prakash Goud, Motkupally Narsimhulu among others.