It was irresponsible of TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu to not take responsibility for the deaths that occurred on January 1 (Sunday) at a stampede during a public meeting in Guntur where he was in attendance, Minister for Housing Jogi Ramesh said on Monday.
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Calling on the injured persons at the Government General Hospital (GGH) in Guntur on Monday, the Minister said this was the third time that Mr. Naidu was responsible for deaths occurring in a stampede. “At least 29 people died during Godavari Pushkaralu when he was Chief Minister. Eight people lost their lives at a public meeting at Kandukur last week, and now three women died in the stampede in Guntur,” Mr. Ramesh said.
It is unfortunate that Mr. Naidu, after returning to Hyderabad from Guntur, claimed that he was not responsible for the incident as the programme was organised by the Vuyyuru Foundation. This exposes the TDP president’s attitude, Mr. Ramesh said.
‘Naidu’s desperation is showing’
Government Adviser (Public Affairs) Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, who interacted with the media on Monday at Tadepalli, said the incident showed the ‘desperation’ of Mr. Naidu.
“Having lost his popularity, Mr. Naidu is desperate to show that large crowds are attending his meetings. For this, he is choosing to hold his events at congested venues, such as the one in Kandukur. A similar situation occurred in Guntur. Had the police not been present, the death toll might have been higher,” Mr. Ramakrishna Reddy said.