Chandrababu Naidu irked by PM's 'bias'

HYDERABAD: Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu, who in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday, urged him to break his "classic silence" over the current crisis in the state, alleged that the latter was being partisan by not meeting TDP leaders who wished to bring to his notice various issues afflicting the state.

In his letter, Naidu mentioned 13 requests made by TDP leaders, including him, to meet the Prime Minister. The requests were made from 2010 to 2013 to highlight various issues, including Babli and the problems of the OBCs. To buttress his point, Naidu mentioned the dates when appointments to meet the PM were sought.

The TDP leader wondered how the Prime Minister had time to meet YSR Congress leader Y S Vijayamma. Naidu also said that the Congress had an 'arrangement' with YSRCP. "The Congress seems to have conveyed its decision much before the public announcement. The resignation drama of YSRCP MPs and MLAs seems to have been orchestrated in collusion with the Congress," he said.

Naidu also criticised the Prime Minister for asking representatives of the APNGOs to meet the Antony committee when they sought to meet him. "I expected the Prime Minister to play the role of a statesman instead of falling prey to the murky politics of the Congress," he said.

"When the situation is affecting crores of Telugu people, is this the way a responsible government under your leadership should conduct itself?" he asked in his six-page letter to the Prime Minister.