VIJAYAWADA: “I don’t care,” was the reply of Hindupur TDP MLA Nandamuri Balakrishna, when asked about the silence of Nandamuri family member and actor Jr NTR over the arrest of Telugu Desam supremo N Chandrababu Naidu in the Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation case.
Since the arrest of Naidu in the skill scam on September 9, the lack of condemnation from Jr NTR has become a point of discussion in political circles on the lines that the gap between both Nara family and Jr NTR widened further.
Jr NTR, who campaigned for the TDP in the 2009 elections, kept himself out of politics and confined to films. According sources, with the TDP keeping him at a distance from the party activities after the 2019 elections, Jr NTR was learnt to have been upset and decided to keep him away from the party.
The last statement he made was his condemnation of ‘abusive’ remarks made by some YSRC leaders against Nara Bhuvaneswari. But as he did not respond to the arrest of Naidu, it is being portrayed that Jr NTR is maintaining strategic silence to drop indications that he is no longer with the TDP.
Against such a backdrop, Balakrishna, who addressed a press conference at NTR Trust Bhavan in Hyderabad on Wednesday, said he will not respond to the lack of response from the film industry over the arrest of Naidu and he will not care about the silence of Jr NTR on the issue. “I will also not react to the comments made by Tourism Minister RK Roja as it is nothing but throwing a stone in mud,” he remarked.
Making it clear that he was unaware whether the role of the Centre was there behind the arrest of Naidu or not, Balakrishna said they will not blame anyone unnecessarily. But the lack of response from the Centre when Naidu was arrested illegally was unfortunate, he said.
Stating that he is in touch with his sister and BJP AP chief D Purandeswari, the TDP MLA said he will definitely take up the issue with the Centre. With an indirect reference to the BRS leaders expressing their solidarity to Naidu, he said as the elections are approaching, leaders in Telangana are doing ‘NTR Japam’.