Kapu leader Mudragada Padmanabham on Sunday claimed that poverty and hunger among members of the community were the reasons behind the success of the Tuni public meeting in January and not the financial aid from any political party as was being alleged by leaders of the ruling Telugu Desam Party.
In a letter addressed to the Chief Minister, a copy of which was released to the media, Mr. Padmanabham ruled out any sponsorship for the meeting and said people had come on their own. “It is unfortunate that you are using Kapu leaders of your party to level allegations against me. May be they are getting some favours from you in return. At least now, you are speaking about Kapus which is nothing but the result of our agitation.” He said he was ready to prove that his indefinite hunger strike was a genuine one and challenged the Chief Minister to sit on fast demanding Special Category Status for the State.
“I will be very happy if your son Lokesh too joins the fast. Since you are a very sincere leader and your son is the younger one, you need not fear about your health,” he said, adding that the proposed agitation would prove his sincerity in conducting hunger strikes. “If mine was a fake agitation, why did you imprison me in the government hospital in the name of treatment? I doubt whether it was an attempt to kill me by way of administering an injection,” he said.
Advice to Naidu
Mr. Padmanabham also suggested the Chief Minister to convene a public meeting at Kirlampudi with the Kapus and ‘instigate’ them against him. “If they reject me, I am ready to leave my house along with my family after handing over my assets and loans to the government.”
