Kishore Chandra Deo joins TDP, slams Narendra Modi

Amaravati: Former Union Minister and Congress leader V Kishore Chandra Deo on Sunday joined the Telugu Desam Party in the presence of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who welcomed him into the party fold.

A large number of tribal people from across north Andhra had gathered to mark the occasion. “It is not new for me to work with the TDP,” said Deo, while recalling when he worked with N T Rama Rao for 10 years at the national level. Talking about the bauxite movement in north Andhra, Deo said that even though the Congress was ruling in the state and at the Centre, he could only stop the mining but failed to cancel the licences.

Slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Deo said: “BJP is creating divisions among different communities in the region. Prime Minister Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won’t even get 100 seats in the coming Lok Sabha seats.”

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Naidu lauded Deo for doing dignified politics throughout his political career. Comparing Deo with Jaganmohan Reddy of YSR Congress Party, Naidu said: “There is no comparison between Deo and Reddy. Deo has always brought respect, but Jagan has criminalised the political discourse and has floated a party only to attack.”

Naidu alleged that Modi is leading attacks on Opposition leaders in the country. He said the TDP leaders having assets in Hyderabad are getting death threats and are being harassed by the TRS leaders. TDP president Naidu also requested the Telugu people to raise their voice against Prime Minister Modi who is scheduled to visit Visakhapatnam on March 1.