Telugu Desam Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu took his battle of “justice for all and this is not the way to divide the State” to Delhi once again by meeting President Pranab Mukherjee, BJP president Rajnath Singh and other national leaders on Monday. His meeting with Mr. Singh, the first in the day, was significant in that he impressed upon the BJP leader to act along the lines of TDP of addressing the concerns of Seemandhra people before going ahead with the bifurcation. He also met JD (U) leader Sharad Yadav later.
Sources said this was the second time that Mr. Naidu wanted the BJP, with which he is proposing an alliance in coming elections, to tweak its strategy focussing on justice for all regions that could shore up its fortunes in the two regions of Andhra Pradesh and keep the Congress on tenterhooks.
He is believed to have told Mr. Singh that the Congress should be targeted for making a mess of the bifurcation process, bringing about a vertical split among the Telugus.
After meeting the President, he said he had brought to his notice how the Congress had no clue on ticklish issues like special provisions of the Constitution 371 D and E and went about destroying the federal spirit by creating more problems while trying to solve one.
It brought about fissures in Telugu society. While Telangana leaders were demanding immediate introduction of the Bill in Parliament, those from Seemandhra wanted to stall it. Such differences could only be sorted out through discussions.
Congress does not want to hold such meeting and forced upon the Assembly a defective Bill which was rejected. It was now desperately trying to project the Chief Minister, N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, as a champion of Seemandhra after the YSRC leader Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy’s stock has come down steadily in the region.
Earlier, after meeting Mr. Singh, he said the Chief Minister as well as Mr. Jagan were merely enacting a drama. If they were sincere, they would have at least staged a dharna at Sonia Gandhi’s residence.
