After snapping ties with BJP, Naidu seeks to woo Muslims
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which broke its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) last week, has now started wooing minorities in a big way.
On Monday, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu held a meeting with Muslim groups at the Praja Darbar Hall adjacent to his official residence in Amaravati. The Muslims, who arrived in big numbers under the leadership of Vijayawada (West) MLA Mohammad Jaleel Khan, hailed Naidu for breaking ties with the BJP.
Explaining the reasons for the TDP forging an alliance with BJP in 2014, Naidu said he had joined the NDA only with an intention to secure maximum benefits to the state, which had suffered huge loss due to bifurcation.
“Though the TDP had ideological differences with the BJP, I had to take the decision in the larger interest of the state. However, I never compromised on the secular principles,” he said.
The CM reminded that the TDP had opposed tooth and nail the attempts of the Narendra Modi government to push through the triple talaq bill in Parliament. “Ours was the only party in the NDA to resist the triple talaq bill that was aimed at interfering in the personal laws
HYDERABAD:
of Muslims,” he said.
He said the TDP would also fight for increase in reservations for Muslims. “Right from the beginning, our government has been working for the interests of minorities. In the latest budget, we have allocated ₹1,100 crore for welfare of minorities, which was unprecedented in the history of the state,” Naidu said.
The TDP chief alleged that the BJP had declared a war on him and the TDP government. “What mistake did I commit? Is it a crime to ask for fulfilment of promises made in the AP Reorganisation Act? Did I ask the moon from the sky? Whom does the BJP want to fight with? With me? Or With people of Andhra Pradesh?” he asked. He said his party had come out of the NDA only because the latter had failed to do justice to the state. “Now, the real colours of BJP are exposed. It is trying to destabilise my government by instigating YSR Congress party and Jana Sena Party,” he alleged.
The Muslim representatives appreciated the CM for coming out of the BJP fold at least now.
Reacting to the comments, BJP general secretary Shyam Kishore Jammula described Naidu’s attempt to woo Muslims as “vote bank politics.” “He has miserably failed to take up development of the state. In order to cover up his inefficiency, he is trying to shift the blame on the BJP now. By raising the Muslim bogey now, he is trying to gain political mileage. For him, power is more important than achieving benefits to the state,” Jammula said.