VIJAYAWADA: A member of Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi Joint Action Committee Kolikapudi Srinivasa Rao tried to attack BJP state general secretary S Vishnu Vardhan Reddy with his footwear during a live television debate on Amaravati on Tuesday as a heated argument ensued between the duo. BJP state chief Somu Veerraju condemned the attack and appealed to the TV channel to lodge a complaint against Srinivasa Rao, while party MP GVL Narasimha Rao alleged TDP’s role in it.
In a debate on ABN Andhrajyothi on the state cabinet’s decision to extend government guarantee for raising Rs 3,000 crore from banks for taking up Amaravati projects, Vishnu Vardhan Reddy, ‘welcomed’ the decision to mobilise funds. He said that it seemed that the government realised that the agitation in Amaravati would continue and was sort of going for damage control. He, however, was critical of borrowing loans by the TDP regime to which Srinivasa Rao raised serious objection.
Rao found fault with Vishnu Vardhan Reddy for not sticking to the ‘serious issue’ at hand and interjected as the latter tried to finish his contention. However, heated argument ensued and Reddy countered asking if he had to toe the line of the TDP like Srinivasa Rao. Reddy asked, “Should I do your paid artiste work?”
Enraged by the ‘paid artiste’ remark, Srinivasa Rao removed his footwear and threw it at Vishnu Vardhan Reddy in an attempt to slap the latter live on television. While the TV host apologised for the ‘unfortunate’ incident, both Vishnu and BJP state chief Somu Veerraju appealed to the channel to take responsibility and file a police complaint.
The channel is said to have removed Srinivasa Rao from the list of panellists for debates. BJP Rajya Sabha MP GVL Narasimha Rao also condemned it. “If TDP has no role in it, Naidu should condemn the attacker unequivocally,” GVL tweeted.