VIJAYAWADA: Even as the national BJP leaders have been repeatedly stating that the saffron party would not work with the TDP, Rajya Sabha MP GVL Narasimha Rao on Saturday said that he would talk to the central leadership if Chandrababu Naidu wishes to merge his party with the BJP. Incidentally, an hour after GVL’s remarks, BJP State president Kanna Lakshminarayana tweeted that doors for the TDP were closed forever.
Replying to a query at a press conference here on YS Chowdary’s (Sujana Chowdary) remarks that he would inform the party central leadership if Naidu wanted an alliance with the BJP, GVL said, “If he said so, it means he volunteered to facilitate a meeting. Since he worked with the TDP, he may still have a bonding, or he may be under the impression that it would be good if both the parties work together. Anybody is free to air their views in our party and they don’t need any permission. We don’t need any alliance with the TDP, but if Chandrababu Naidu wants to merge his party with the BJP, I will personally talk to the national leadership.”
However, GVL slammed Naidu for attempting to bond with the BJP after severing ties with it last year. “There is no necessity for us to have an ally like TDP, an opportunistic party with no principles. We are here to grown on our own. Four of TDP’s Rajya Sabha members joined our party, and we don’t want their Lok Sabha members. Probably Naidu is scared of his future after seeing the fate of Chidambaram and DK Shivakumar,” he remarked.
However, right after GVL’s remarks, Lakshminarayana tweeted, “There will never be ties with the TDP, which has no political values. With what face is TDP, which took several U-turns and stoop low politically, is seeking to work with us? Our national president Amit Shah has long before closed the doors for the TDP, forever.” To a query if the BJP leaders have different views with respect to the State issues, GVL said, “All of us have broad consensus on all the issues. The statements may differ, but the intent is the same.” The Rajya Sabha MP, who was elected from Uttar Pradesh, also admitted that the BJP’s efforts in the State were not yielding the expected results.
‘State yet to submit Polavaram details’
BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao has claimed that the State government had not submitted the details pertaining to the expenditure made on Polavaram project prior to 2014. This, he noted, was the reason for the Centre’s inability to release interim funds. “The State said it spent around `5,000 crore before 2014, but has submitted details for about 3,500 crore.
The remaining is related to land acquisition. So, the Centre is unable to release any fund as there is a possibility that the State may use it for the acquisition of the land, which is already under its custody,” he observed. Regarding Amaravati, he said that the Centre would not have any objections if the government decides to relocate or scale down the proposed capital. “If the government thinks that its decision is in public interest, why will the Centre have objections?” he asked.