HYDERABAD: Declaring that he would play the role of an ordinary BJP ‘karyakarta’ to show the ruling TRS its true place in the “Telangana First versus Family First war”, former chairman of National Disaster Management Authority Marri Shashidhar Reddy joined BJP in the presence of Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in New Delhi on Friday.
Welcoming him into the BJP fold was almost the entire top brass of the party’s State leadership, including Bandi Sanjay, K Laxman, G Kishan Reddy, D Arvind, Eatala Rajender, DK Aruna and others. Shashidhar Reddy assured them that he would put his life on the line to bring the BJP to power in Telangana.
“The Congress has completely failed as the principal opposition party since the last eight-and-a-half years in preventing whatever is happening in Telangana. The TRS government is the most corrupt government in the country,” Shashidhar Reddy said, explaining the reasons for his leaving the grand old party.
He said that the country was progressing well under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and after watching the PM’s speech during his recent visit to Telangana, he met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and was convinced that the BJP alone was capable of showing the TRS its true place.
“Welcoming Shashidhar Reddy is a significant moment for us. Under Modi, the country is becoming a self-reliant nation, and to join this journey of progress he has joined the BJP. We are confident that BJP’s strength will increase and the family and corrupt rule in Telangana will end. We will form the next government in Telangana,” declared Sonowal.
Kishan described Shashidhar Reddy as a person who was acceptable to all sections, and exuded confidence that his entry into the party would boost the morale of the BJP cadre.