Telugu Desam chief N. Chandrababu Naidu’s letter to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on the Telangana issue has rocked the party. The party’s general secretary and Rayalaseema protagonist from Kurnool Byreddy Rajasekhar Reddy resigned from the post and primary membership of the party in protest against Mr Naidu ignoring to mention in the T letter Rayalaseema’s demand for a tripartite division of the state, being the third part. Two MLAs from Chandrababu Naidu’s home turf, Chittoor district, Praveen Kumar Reddy (Thamballapalle) and N. Amarnatha Reddy (Palamaner), criticised Naidu for the T-letter and threatened to quit the party if the letter was not withdrawn.
But the party’s senior leader and MLA Revuri Prakash Reddy, defending Naidu's T-letter, lashed out at his critics, alleging that those planning to quit the party were using the letter as an excuse. The TD is likely to issue showcause notice to the two MLAs who were critical of the T-letter. Byreddy Rajasekhar Reddy, was associated with the TD for 19 years before he quit the party. He did not disagree with the writing of the letter on Telangana to the Centre, “but he should not have ignored the sentiments of the Rayalaseema people. Telangana is likely to be a reality soon,” he said.
Mr Rajasekhar Reddy, who heads Rayalaseema Parirakshana Samithi and has been demanding trifurcation of the state, said he would undertake a 40-day Rayalaseema Atma Gouravam yatra from October 2. Expressing shock at the T-letter, Mr Praveen Kumar Reddy said he would quit the party if Mr Naidu failed to withdraw the letter before his padayatra entered Chittoor district. Another party MLA, N. Amarnatha Reddy, too criticised Naidu for taking ‘wrong decisions’ and destroying the party.
“Mr Naidu has betrayed the Seemaandhra people who are for Samaikhya Andhra. He has been taking wrong decisions since 2009 which affected the party. No one from the region supports his letter,” he said. Mr Praveen Kumar Reddy, TD MLA, further said that the party was in dire straits and the T-letter had come as a bolt from the blue.