Even as the talk of Bharatiya Janata Party trying to grow independently in Andhra Pradesh by next elections is gaining ground gradually, Union minister for information and broadcasting M Venkaiah Naidu added fuel to fire by rapping Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, albeit indirectly, for engineering defections from the rival parties.
Speaking to media in Ongole on Thursday, Venkaiah said defection of elected representatives from one party to the other was against the Constitution.
“It is not proper on the part of the leaders who get elected on behalf of a particular political party to shift their loyalties to the other party. It is not only unconstitutional, but also unethical,” Venkaiah said, making an indirect reference to defection of 21 YSR Congress party MLAs into the ruling TDP in the last two years.
The union minister also found fault with Naidu, again indirectly, for trying to appease various sections of people with populist schemes.
“These Ramzan tofas and Sankranti sops will not help the people in any manner. The government should take up projects that would give long-lasting benefits to the people,” he said.
Venkaiah, however, denied the rumours that the BJP would sever its ties with the TDP in the next elections.
“Don’t go by such baseless rumours. Both the parties worked together in the past and will be working together in future. It is just a malicious propaganda,” the union minister said.
