Babu attracts Kanna's ire for raising graft issue

Minister for Housing Kanna Lakshminarayana on Monday took exception to former chief minister and Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu for having made his intentions clear that he would launch a pro-farmer demonstration in New Delhi on February 8 and his attempts to prove the Congress government in the state and UPA government at the Centre was corrupt.

Speaking to media persons at the Secretariat on Monday, Mr Lakshminarayana spewed venom at Mr Naidu for condemning the Congress government and alleging it was associated with various scams and corruption charges.

The Minister said that when corruption charges were levied against Mr Naidu, he took refuge behind the Courts by obtaining stay orders in most of the cases to cover up complaints, during his nine-year-stint as the chief minister.

In the name of Janmabhoomi, Clean and Green scheme and Food for Work programmes, Mr Naidu was alleged to have made money, which the Minister claimed was worth covering by the famous Tehelka news website.

How far was Mr Naidu justified in laying corruption charges against the ruling party, the Minister asked.

Mr Lakshminarayana compared the TDP chief’s statements in terms of checking graft was like devils chanting Vedas, and his words have no essence in them, the Minister maintained, spewing venom against the TDP chief for taking up a dharna in support of poor farmers.

Incidentally, Mr Naidu had also decided to be part of another dharna by a set of National parties on February 9, in New Delhi.

The Minister also found fault with Mr Chandrababu Naidu for flatly ignoring party seniors and leaders like Pedda Rattiah and others for allotting a Rajya Sabha seat but instead giving priority to Nellore heavy weight and business tycoon Sujana Chowdhury.

This, he said, itself spoke of the former chief minister's priority for poor and his stand to address poor farmers' problems. The choice of Mr Sujahana Chowdhury exposes Mr Naidu’s claim and his support for the farmers was nothing but an eye on the vote bank, the Minister claimed.

He also said that during Mr Naidu's tenure, farmers' problems were given a go by and this was known to all and sundry.