The YSRCP on Thursday lashed out at the ruling TDP in Andhra Pradesh, questioning the move by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu to send two state Ministers to greet his Telangana counterpart, K Chandrasekhar Rao.
KCR landed at the Gannavaram airport to make an offering of a nose stud to the presiding deity at the Kanaka Durga Goddess temple in Vijayawada.
Before the state of Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated, KCR had vowed that he would present gold ornaments to various gods and goddesses after the state of Telangana was carved out.
Speaking to reporters in Hyderabad, YSRCP MLA RK Roja pointed out that KCR was received at the airport by ministers Devineni Uma Maheshwar Rao and Prathipati Pulla Rao.
"Was it protocol or did the Ministers meet him to keep KCR happy and save Naidu from the cash-for-vote scam? Wasn't this the same KCR who insulted Devineni Uma by asking if he was a man or a woman?" Roja asked.
"They gave him a grand welcome and accompanied him to the temple, because they were scared," she added.
The cash-for-vote case
Telangana legislator A Revanth Reddy was caught red-handed by the ACB on May 31, 2015, when he was offering Rs 50 lakh to Independent MLA Stephenson to make him vote for the TDP-BJP candidate in the elections to the Telangana Legislative Council.
TRS leaders have since alleged that Naidu is the mastermind in the scam and demanded that he should be booked.
The ACB had earlier said that there were 516 telephone conversation records in the phone of Sebastian, one of the accused, including one between Elvis Stephenson and Naidu.
The audio tape was first played by T News, a Telugu news channel owned by the ruling TRS party and was later picked up by others.
During the conversation, Naidu purportedly assured the nominated member that he is with him: "Our people briefed me. I am with you don't bother. For everything I am with you. What all they spoke, we will honour.”
TTD row
Speaking at Lotus Pond, the YSRCP headquarters in Hyderabad, Roja also hit out at the TDP government over the ongoing row at the Lord Venkateswara temple atop Tirumala.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), which governs the affairs of the temple, has been plagued with controversy ever since former TTD chief priest Ramana Deekshithulu was sacked in May by authorities on the grounds that he exceeded the retirement age limit.
The unceremonious sacking came after he levelled shocking allegations against the TTD administration of financial irregularities, and also raised suspicion that several precious ornaments from the temple were missing.
The TDP has been alleging that Deekshitulu was colluding with the YSRCP and the BJP, adding fuel to the fire.
"The same people who questioned Ramana Deekshitulu's meeting with Amit Shah are now greeting KCR in such a manner. Isn't the TDP the one who named inexperienced people as members of the board? There is no transparency in the functioning of the TTD and we demand a probe," Roja said.
Naidu on Wednesday wrote to Hyderabad High Court Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan demanding a probe by a sitting judge, into the row.
"It is you who are to blame, but you are instead pointing fingers at us. They were the ones who allied with the BJP for four years and stayed quiet and now suddenly they are having issues after they broke the alliance," Roja added, referring to the Chief Minister.