TIRUPATI: War of words between leaders of main political parties has intensified ahead of the April 17 Tirupati Lok Sabha by-election. Reacting to TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu’s remarks on the Special Category Status (SCS), Minister for Panchayatraj and Rural Development Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy alleged that the TDP MPs did nothing on the SCS issue. “We are taking the Tirupati by-election as a referendum. If we lose the Lok Sabha seat, 22 YSRC MPs will resign. Will all the four MPs of the TDP resign if they face a defeat in the bypoll?” the minister asked, throwing an open challenge to the Opposition party.
Speaking to the media here on Sunday, the minister said Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has cancelled his public meeting in the constituency considering the rising number of Covid cases. Attributing the victory of YSRC in the local elections to the welfare programmes introduced by the Jagan government, he said those schemes were the only weapons of the party to win the election.
Training his guns at the BJP, the minister argued that the saffron party has no moral right to seek votes in the State. “How can the BJP seek votes from people without fulfilling the bifurcation promises to the State?” he sought to know and added that the BJP leaders have no answer to the questions of people on the Special Category Status.