Governor must stick to rule book not BJP playbook, hints CM Chandrababu Naidu
VIJAYAWADA: Lending credence to reports that Governor ESL Narasimhan advised him to tone down his rhetoric against the Centre and not campaign against the BJP in poll-bound Karnataka, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday cited the same, more or less confirming them, but without saying so in as many words.
Addressing a public meeting at Dwarapudi in East Godavari district, Naidu said, “The NDA government is trying to play with our lives... you may play games in other States but it won’t happen in Andhra Pradesh” and appealed to the people to oppose any such moves by the Centre “not for my sake, but for the State and future generations.” Immediately, referring to news reports on the Governor’s meeting with him the other day, he observed, “Though we did not say anything, newspapers have reported that the Governor is uniting them (Opposition). The institution of Governor must follow certain rules and procedures.
The TDP had earlier opposed the very institution and on occasions, fought against it. I don’t want to comment on these issues now, but it is improper on your part to behave in a way that is being reported in newspapers.”The Governor had visited Vijayawada on Sunday and held discussions with Naidu for almost one-and-a-half hours. He left for New Delhi on Tuesday and will be meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday apparently to brief them on his confabulations with Naidu. Naidu’s comments assume significance against this backdrop.
Interestingly, the Chief Minister recalled how NT Rama Rao was dethroned in August 1984 by the then Governor Ram Lal. When NTR was away in the US, the Congress had engineered a revolt through the Governor in the TDP making N Bhaskara Rao, the then finance minister, Chief Minister.
Upon his return, NTR launched a stir storming back to power the very next month by proving his majority in the House. Thereafter, the TDP has had its fair share of tussles with Governors and even now, Naidu claims quite often that the party is responsible for ensuring the implementation of the Sarkaria Commission’s recommendations.
In the present context, Naidu, who has been repeating everyday that the BJP at the Centre has colluded with Opposition parties, YSRC and Jana Sena, seems to be hinting that the Modi Sarkar might resort to tactics once adopted by Indira Gandhi.
May be with that in mind, he said, “When NTR became the Chief Minister, the Congress tried to tarnish his image but the people stood by him and taught a lesson to Indira Gandhi.. that is the self-respect of Telugus. The NDA government is behaving in a similar fashion today.”The Chief Minister further said, “We should be alert. This is about our self-respect. You should keep an eye on State and Central politics. They (BJP) are experts in mud-slinging... You should be aware and shield me and protect me. It is your responsibility.”
Terming his fight against the Centre Dharma Poratam, he vowed not to stop with his proposed public meeting in Tirupati on April 30 and added that Prime Minister Modi wasn’t listening to the State since he has majority.
“We will win all 25 MP seats next time and decide who will be the Prime Minister,” he asserted.
In his lengthy speech, Naidu reiterated that the BJP was behind both the YSRC and Jana Sena and regretted that president of the latter, actor Pawan Kalyan was throwing muck on the TDP though the party hasn’t said a word against him.
“TDP follows decorum and rules. We always fight on issues and never resort to character assassination.
It is painful that he is targeting us,” he remarked. In the same breath, he accused the BJP of trying to divide the people on the basis of caste and religion and alleged that the Prime Minister, while claiming to check corruption, was entertaining the corrupt.He also found fault with the Centre’s move to prosecute people over the Triple Talaq issue and wondered why it hadn’t thought of bringing an ordinance on child rapists earlier.