TIRUPATI: Agriculture Minister Kurasala Kanna Babu on Wednesday said TDP national general secretary Nara Lokesh’s challenge to Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to swear in Alipiri regarding the murder of former minister YS Vivekananda Reddy was only to divert people’s attention from the comments of TDP State president K Atchannaidu on Lokesh’s “inefficiency”.
On a day when Lokesh reached Alipiri to swear that the TDP is not behind the murder of the leader, the minister said TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and Lokesh clearly understood that the TDP was losing in the Tirupati bypoll and staging political drama every other day.
“The stone pelting show put up by Naidu and the challenge at Alipiri by Lokesh are staged with political interests,’’ the minister said.
He was referring to the “leaked video”, in which Atchannaidu is heard saying that the TDP has lost its place in the State because of the attitude of Lokesh. Stating that Lokesh does not have the stature to dare Jagan, the minister challenged him to swear on the atrocities and wrong-doings of his father Naidu and uncle Balakrishna. He also slammed BJP president JP Nadda for his comments on the welfare schemes of the government.