Chandrababu Naidu hits back, says his fight is not personal

Vijayawada: It was a day of war of words between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. While Modi launched a blistering attack on Naidu, the Chief Minister hit back at Modi stating that his fight against the Centre was not personal.

He said he was opposing the dominance of Delhi over states and was strictly following the footsteps of TDP founder president N T Rama Rao. Addressing a public meeting on Sunday after the distribution of house site pattas at the Indira Gandhi Municipal Corporation Stadium here on Sunday, Naidu, for the first time, even referred to the wife of Modi and said that family structure and values were very important in any society.

Modi too has a family, but he never bothered about his own wife, he said and added that he was making this comment out of agony and anguish. “A man who found fault with triple talak and promised to punish those who indulge in such acts had left his own wife Yashodaben,” he said.

Naidu further said that Modi had not taken care even of his elderly mother. “But on the contrary, I am proud to be known as father of Lokesh,” he said. Naidu reiterated that it was not he who had taken U-turn. “It is Modi who has taken ‘U-turn, while he had taken a right turn on special category status.

He said he will go to Delhi on Monday and take part in Dharma Porata Deeksha to explain to the people of India how the BJP government had cheated the people of Andhra Pradesh.

He alleged that Modi came to Guntur to attack him and fled from Guntur without giving information to the people of Andhra Pradesh why the Union government had not accorded special category status to Andhra Pradesh.

Naidu said, “I had a lot of respect for PM and always referred to him as ‘Sir’. But he betrayed the people of Andhra Pradesh, he added. ‘I went to Delhi 29 times to ask the Union government to fulfil the assurances made in the Bifurcation Act but there was no response,” the CM said.

The Chief Minister has also responded to the comment made by Modi that Chandrababu Naidu had backstabbed his father-in-law N T Rama Rao. He said the entire family of NTR, and the party leaders had differed with NTR on certain issues and to save the party they had to do what they had done. But Modi has proved that he has no respect for his political guru L K Advani and a man who was protected him when then prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee wanted to sack him.

“Modi should also check his facts. I have never changed parties,” he said, adding: “I have been wearing same type of clothes all through unlike Modi who wears dresses and shoes worth lakhs of rupees every day.”

Naidu said he was striving to unite all political parties to fight the autocratic rule of Modi and save democracy, but Modi was trying to divide and rule. He alleged that Modi's interests are personal interests, where as his interests are purely for the sake of the state only. “Modi must have had a glimpse of developmental works in AP, while travelling by helicopter and felt jealous. That’s why he accused me so much,” he added.