Naidu’s fast unites top Oppn leaders
UPPING THE ANTE Andhra CM says Modi not following ‘raj dharma’
NEWDELHI: Several opposition parties on Monday rallied behind Andhra Pradesh chief minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N Chandrababu Naidu as he demanded special category status to the southern state and attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “failure to fulfil the 2014 promise”.
Naidu’s day-long f ast at Andhra Bhavan in Delhi turned into a show of Opposition unity, with former PM Manmohan Singh, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal and Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav among those who visited him.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut was also present at the fast venue, which added to the speculation over unease in the alliance his party shares with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Delivering a speech during the fast, Naidu launched a tirade against the Prime Minister, alleging that he was not following “raj dharma” by denying the special category status to Andhra Pradesh. The TDP pulled out of the National Democratic Alliance government over the issue in March last year.
“(Former PM) Atal Bihari Vaj-
payee had said raj dharma was not followed in Gujarat (during the 2002 riots). Now, raj dharma’ is not being followed in Andhra Pradesh. We have been denied what is rightfully ours,” Naidu said. The TDP chief said Modi will get a “befitting answer” if he makes personal attacks against the people of Andhra Pradesh.
BJP chief Amit Shah countered Naidu in an open letter addressed to the people of Andhra Pradesh, saying the chief minister knew that his political fortunes were declining rapidly and so he was back to theatrics to grab headlines.
Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi attacked the Prime Minister, saying he had made a commitment to the people of Andhra Pradesh but “failed” to fulfil it. “Is Andhra Pradesh not part of this country? So, how dare he not fulfil this commitment?,” he said.
Naidu ended his fast at 8.20pm by accepting a glass of juice from JD(S) chief and former prime minister Deve Gowda. Opposition leaders will again converge in Delhi on February 13 to attend a rally in Delhi called by the AAP against the Modi government. On Monday, Kejriwal alleged that the Prime Minister was behaving like the “Prime Minister of Pakistan”. “When one becomes the PM, then he is the PM of the entire country, not of just one party. The way Prime Minister Modi treats governments of opposition parties in states, he behaves like he is not the Prime Minister of India, but the Prime Minister of Pakistan,” he said. Others who visited Naidu to express support included Majeed Memon of the Nationalist Congress Party, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’ Brien, Tiruchi Siva of the Dravida Munnetra Kazagham, Sharad Yadav (LJP), Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath and senior Congress leaders Anand Sharma, Ahmed Patel and Jairam Ramesh.