Simmering trouble within the ruling Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh has come to the fore with party MP from Vijayawada Kesineni Srinivas alias Nani going public with his differences with senior Minister D Umamaheshwara Rao. The MP’s outburst against his own Government at a meeting in Vijayawada on Friday has caught the party leadership by surprise. Srinivas alleged that the Government had not done anything for Vijayawada city over the last six-seven months and Minister Umamaheshwara Rao was taking unilateral and arbitrary decisions without consulting him.
He also expressed unhappiness over the attitude of certain Government officials. “There is no coordination between the Government officials and the elected representatives. No matter is being brought to my notice,” he said, holding the Minister for Irrigation Umamaheshwara Rao responsible. The member of lok Sabha also found fault with the style of functioning of Vijayawada Police Commissioner Venkateshwara Rao. “Where is the need for the police to launch Operation Night Domination like it is KashmirIJ The city is being projected like city of crime,” he alleged.
MP’s outburst evoked immediate reaction from Chief Minister and party president N Chandrababu Naidu who asked him not to air his grievances in public. “If the MP has any problem, he can raise it on the party platform and take it to the notice of the leaders,” Naidu reportedly told the MP and asked him to clarify his remarks.
Meanwhile, Umamaheshwara Rao denied that there was a problem of coordination between the officials and elected representatives. He said that the grievances of the MP would be addressed and resolved. Vijaywada is the key city in Andhra Pradesh serving as a make shift capital of the State and both the Minister and the MP were seen trying to dominate the politics of the city.
It is second time that a senior TDP leader has publicly criticised the State Government and leadership. Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister KE Krishnamurthy found fault with the CM Naidu for not allowing the Ministers to speak on the floor of the State Assembly.