The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) on Thursday attacked the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and party supremo N Chandrababu Naidu's met with Congress President Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Thursday. The TRS claimed that Naidu was going against the very principles on which his party was founded.
Speaking to reporters in Hyderabad, TRS MP B Vinod Kumar said, "Chandrababu Naidu's behaviour is totally against what N T Rama Rao had spoken then and the basic principles for which that party was started."
He also lashed out at the Mahakutami or grand alliance coming together in the state and said that the Congress and TDP had tied up only to trouble the TRS and caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
NT Rama Rao was the first non-Congress Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh after he founded his party in 1982 on an anti-Congress plank, pointing out to the Centre's increasing authoritarianism towards states.
Meanwhile, Telangana BJP President K Laxman also held a press meet and accused Naidu of 'mortgaging' the self-respect of Telugu people, by meeting Rahul Gandhi.
Efforts to forge a broad unity among opposition parties to defeat the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections received a boost on Thursday with Naidu meeting Rahul Gandhi and the two leaders stating that opposition forces will work together to "defend India, our institutions and democracy."
Naidu, who had a joint meeting with Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah on Thursday afternoon, said that a meeting of anti-BJP parties will be convened to evolve an action plan against the BJP-led government and a common minimum programme will also be worked out.
He met Samajwadi Party leader leader Akhilesh Yadav and his father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, in the evening.
The TDP leader's meeting with Gandhi, the first such meeting between leaders of two parties in over three decades, marked a realignment of political relationships in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Gandhi alluded to the two parties having been rivals in the past and said they were "not going to get into the past" and noted that they had "a very good meeting."
Naidu, whose party quit the Modi government and the NDA earlier this year, said that he along with Gandhi wanted to forge a common platform "save nation, save democracy" for the opposition parties to defeat the BJP.
"We want to chalk out a programme for future to protect democracy and also the institutions. You are all watching what is happening in the country. I am in politics since last 40 years but have never witnessed this type of administration and attempt to demolish institutions like RBI, CBI, ED and Income Tax one by one."
Asked who will be the face of the opposition camp, both Gandhi and Naidu stressed that the issue will be decided later as their primary aim was to remove the BJP from power.
Naidu had visited the national capital last week and met Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, BSP leader Mayawati, Loktrantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav, former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha and CPI leaders D. Raja and S. Sudhakar Reddy apart from Abdullah.
IANS inputs