KTR tears Oppn charges to shreds

IT Minister denies luring leaders of other parties to join the TRS

• Those defecting to TRS are not kids: KTR
• Says changing party is a democratic right

“We are not offering anything and the leaders joining the TRS impressed by various welfare schemes and developmental programmes,” the Minister stressed

Hyderabad: Lashing out at previous governments for ignoring power and irrigation sectors and depriving the poor of all facilities, IT and Panchayat Raj Minister K T Rama Rao said the ruling party was not coercing or luring leaders of other political parties to join the TRS. “Those joining our party are not children but were former ministers and elected MLAs for four to five times,” KTR asserted.

Addressing the media along with Ministers Talasani Srinivas Yadav and T Padma Rao Goud at the Secretariat on Friday, KTR questioned whether it was possible to threaten or attract such senior leaders to join the ruling party. KTR refuted the comments of Opposition leaders that the ruling party was luring the other party leaders with some offers.

“We are not offering anything and the leaders were joining the TRS impressed by various welfare schemes and developmental programmes,” he added. He pointed out that changing parties by the leaders was not new and it was a democratic right.

Switching loyalties to other parties happened during the previous governments too, he said. “We cannot refuse to admit senior leaders opting to join TRS. People are not ready to believe cheap politics played by the other parties,” he said.

Expressing displeasure at the Opposition parties’ rhetoric against the government’s welfare schemes, KTR said there was nothing wrong in admitting leaders into the TRS. “The leaders have freedom to change parties as it is a democratic right and we cannot find fault with the system,” the Panchayat Raj Minister said.