Telugu Desam Party (TDP) senior leader and former Minister Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy took strong exception to the charges made by Endowments Minister Velampalli Srinivasa Rao on former Union Minister and senior leader of the TDP Ashok Gajapati Raju.
Speaking to the media here on Monday, Mr. Murthy recalled that Mr. Ashok had won the appreciation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his integrity and hard work. As the Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Mr. Ashok had not even had a cup of tea at government expense. He demanded that Mr. Srinivasa Rao take back his words and tender an apology to Mr. Ashok in public.
Condemning the statements of Mr. Srinivasa Rao, Mr. Murthy said that though Mr. Ashok belongs to the royal family, he was leading a simple life and was held in high esteem even by Opposition leaders. He recalled that former Chief Ministers N. Janardhan Reddy, Chenna Reddy and Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy had never spoke ill of Mr. Ashok.
Mr. Murthy condemned the attitude of the police officials, who permitted Rajya Sabha member V. Vijaya Sai Reddy into the temple of Sri Rama at Ramatheertham, while making former Chief Minister and Opposition leader N. Chandrababu Naidu to wait. He warned that, if the TDP so desired, the Endowments Minister would not be allowed to step out of his house in Vijayawada.
Meanwhile, former Minister and senior TDP leader Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu has alleged that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and DGP Gautam Sawang are responsible for the series of attacks on temples in the State.
Speaking to the media here on Monday, he alleged that Rajya Sabha Member V. Vijaya Sai Reddy was trying to disturb peace in north Andhra with his inflammatory statements. He said that people were aware that Minister Botcha Satyanarayana was responsible for Volkswagen dropping its plan to set up a car factory in Visakhapatnam.
The TDP leader demanded that the BJP State president Somu Veerraju respond to the series of attacks on temples in the State.
