The man widely regarded as the ‘Telangana Face’ of the Telugu Desam Party, Nagam Janardhan Reddy, on Monday came under attack from members of his own party from the region, who accused him of being ‘unilateral in taking decisions on the separate statehood issue.’
Expressing serious concern over the adamant stance of Mr Janardhan Reddy, who is also the convenor of the Telangana Telugu Desam Party Forum, party MLA Motkupalli Narasimhulu charged him of taking arbitrary and unilateral decisions on the struggle for Telangana.
Talking to media persons at Assembly Media Point, Mr Narasimhulu went a step further and alleged that Mr Janardhan Reddy was misusing the Telangana agitation to build his political career and protect his self interests.
Mr Narasimhulu alleged that while doing so, Mr Janardhan Reddy was projecting other party leaders from Telangana as traitors while portraying himself as a true champion of the separate statehood cause.
The MLA pointed out that while he enjoyed a stint in the Chandrababu Naidu Cabinet during its nine-years of rule, Mr Janardhan Reddy had raised the Telangana issue.
He wondered why this has changed now. ”Why is he threatening to resign on Telangana? We are also ready to resign on Telangana. We are also working for the cause of Telangana. Mr Janardhan Reddy is not the only champion of Telangana,” Mr Narasimhulu stated.
He went on, “Instead of just issuing threats, Mr Janardhan Reddy should resign and prove that he is committed to Telangana.”
Meanwhile, another TDP MLA from Telangana, Revanth Reddy condemned Mr Janardhan Reddy’s claim that other MLAs from his party were not extending support to Telangana agitation.
Mr Revanth Reddy alleged that Mr Janardhan Reddy was not consulting other party members but was instead taking unilateral decisions on Telangana. The MLA further expressed his bewilderment why Mr Janardhan Reddy was suddenly pushing for resignations. He further wondered whether the TTDPF convenor had entered in some ‘secret pacts’ with other parties.