JANGAON: The cold war between former deputy chief minister T Rajaiah and MLC Kadiyam Srihari erupted into a heated exchange of words on Tuesday, leaving the people of Station Ghanpur Assembly constituency stunned.
During the course of their bitter exchange, Srihari warned Rajaiah that Station Ghanpur was not his fiefdom and asked him what he had done for the people of the constituency despite being elected to the Assembly four times.
In a press conference, Srihari alleged that Rajaiah levelled serious allegations against him instead of bringing any issues to the notice of the party's high command. He went on to say that Rajaiah’s attitude and arrogance were already in the knowledge of the party's high command and the people too were now openly opposing his actions.
“If a survey is conducted regarding the popularity of the leader, without the backing of the party, people will reveal their disappointment with him,” Srihari said, hinting that most of the people in the segment are angry with the former deputy CM.
“Do you think Station Ghanpur is your ‘adda’ to do as you like?” he asked Rajaiah. He demanded that the former deputy CM withdraw his comments against him. “On the direction of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, I am striving for the development of the Station Ghanpur Assembly constituency,” the MLC said.
Earlier in the day, Rajaiah, at a pension distribution programme in the constituency, launched an indirect yet scathing attack on Srihari. He alleged that between 1994 and 2004 when N Chandrababu Naidu was in power, more encounters were reported in the constituency than ever before. Srihari represented the segment in the Assembly during this period.
“I know many secrets about him,” Rajaiah said, adding that party funds were also misused. “If he has the guts, he should try and secure the ticket from Station Ghanpur for the coming elections,” the former deputy CM challenged Srihari.