Praja Rajyam Party president K. Chiranjeevi has totally ruled out the question of merging his 15-month-old outfit with the ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh.
“We shall not even entertain such thoughts,” Mr. Chiranjeevi told a press conference here on Wednesday. Mr. Chiranjeevi reacted rather angrily to the suggestion made by some Congress leaders, including Agriculture Minister N. Raghuveera Reddy, that it would be better if the PRP merged with the national party.
“Such suggestions only indicate that the Congress has weakened. But we shall never entertain such thoughts,” Mr. Chiranjeevi added.
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Questioned on what basis the PRP sought to align with the Congress for the elections to Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, he said it was only to ensure total development of the city. “Not that our philosophies are same but our focus is on the total development of the State capital. Hence we wanted to come together for the GHMC polls,” Mr. Chiranjeevi observed.
He, however, was highly critical of the Congress for neglecting the development of Hyderabad in the last five years. “Hyderabad has become out of bounds for common people and it has become a haven only for the rich. The situation has so worsened that the common man cannot even afford to buy even a square yard of land,” the PRP chief pointed out.