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KCR’s Federal Front is a front, says Chandrababu Naidu. Then comes a dig

Hindustan Times | By
Jan 17, 2019 05:47 PM IST

N Chandrababu Naidu himself has been making efforts to build up an anti-BJP front at the national level by bringing together like-minded parties along with the Congress under a single umbrella.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday described the federal front of regional parties proposed by his Telangana counterpart K Chandrasekhar Rao as a “flop show” and alleged it was the “brainchild of Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.

Naidu himself has been making efforts to build up an anti-BJP front at the national level by bringing together like-minded parties along with the Congress under a single umbrella. He will be going to Kolkata on Friday evening to take part in the opposition rally proposed to be organised by Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday.

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Interacting with his Telugu Desam Party colleagues through a teleconference as part of his Election Mission 2019 at Amaravati, Naidu reacted strongly to the meeting of Telangana Rashtra Samithi working president and KCR’s son KT Rama Rao with YSR Congress party president YS Jaganmohan Reddy in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

“The YSRC and the TRS are thoroughly exposed now. They are working under the directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The federal front is a brainchild of Modi to split the anti-Bharatiya Janata Party votes in Andhra Pradesh. But the federal front has absolutely no response from any other party,” the TDP president said.

Naidu alleged that the TRS had joined hands with the YSRC in the name of a federal front, as part of a larger conspiracy to obstruct the development of Andhra Pradesh.

“Jagan is hugging KCR, who had insulted people of Andhra Pradesh. The TRS government removed 26 castes from the backward classes list in Telangana. They are coming to Andhra Pradesh to shed crocodile tears for BCs here,” Naidu said.

Naidu sought to play the same “self-respect” card, which was effectively used by the TRS president during the recent Telangana assembly elections.

“Jagan joining hands with KCR who had made derogatory comments against Andhra Pradesh is nothing but an insult to the people of the state. Jagan has mortgaged the self-respect of Andhra people before KCR,” he alleged.

Naidu reminded that the TRS leaders had strongly objected to the granting of special category status to Andhra Pradesh. “The TRS MPs demanded that if AP was given the special category status, Telangana, too, should be given the same. As a result, the Centre went back on its promise to AP,” he said.

He also pointed out that the Telangana government had joined hands with Odisha to file a petition in the Supreme Court to stall the prestigious Polavaram irrigation project on the Godavari. “How can Jagan make friendship with KCR who is working against Andhra interests?” he asked.

Following Jagan’s meeting with KCR’s son on Wednesday, there have been several comments on social media recalling the TRS president’s derogatory comments against the people of Andhra and questioning the YSRC-TRS friendship.

Former minister and YSRC spokesperson Botsa Satyanarayana, however, condemned the TDP’s comments against Jagan-KTR meeting.

“The YSRC will never have any alliance with the TRS and it will go it alone in all the 175 assembly seats in AP. The meeting with the TRS was only aimed at securing maximum benefits to the two Telugu states through federal front,” Satyanarayana said.

He reminded that Naidu himself had offered to join hands with the TRS before the Telangana elections on the pretext that it was in the interest of the Telugu people in both the states.

“When he was ready to ally with the TRS, why can’t we?” Satyanarayana asked.

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