TIRUPATI: TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu unveiled the statue of party founder NT Rama Rao at his native village Naravaripalle on Friday morning.
Later, he inaugurated a mineral water plant that was constructed with the funds of the NTR Memorial Trust.
Later addressing a public meeting, Chandrababu lauded the support the TDP is receiving from the people and the party workers. It may be recalled that Naidu has faced criticism from his political opponents that he has no respect for the party's founder and that is why NTR statue has not been installed in Naidu's native village. Interestingly, NTR’s statue will come up in Naidu’s birth place 16 years after the death of NTR. Earlier in the day, Chandrababu Naidu along with his family members arrived to a tumultuous welcome at the airport, before going to Naravaripalle to participate in the party programmes.
Party leaders including MLA G Muddukrishnama Naidu, B Gopalakrishna Reddy, party district president G Mahadeva Naidu, former MLAs and activists turned up in good numbers to receive Naidu at the airport. From the airport, Naidu's long cavalcade led by motorcycleborne activists went in a procession to his village.
Enroute, he stopped at several villages and greeted the people who assembled to see him on the road. Traffic on the busy Tirupati- Madanapalle road was disrupted, with rows of vehicles carrying party leaders and activists obstructing the vehicular traffic.
Naidu was accorded a warm welcome by the leaders and activists of Chandragiri constituency at Rangampet crossroads from where he was taken in a procession, to the accompaniment of traditional music, to Naravaripalle, a kilometre away.
Naidu's brother Ramaurthy Naidu, son Lokesh, wife Bhuvaneswari, her sister Umamaheswari and others accompanied Naidu. According to party sources, Naidu will hold a meeting with the party leaders of Kadapa district in Tirupati before leaving for Tirumala. He will stay for the night in Tirumala and return to Hyderabad on Saturday.