Actor MP who dressed up as Hitler eyeing hat-trick

He is a qualified doctor with a MBBS degree. He is also an accomplished theatre and film artiste who has bagged the 'best actor' award for his role in the Telugu movie Danger. Most importantly, he is a two-time MP who is eyeing for a hat-trick victory in this Lok Sabha elections.

Dr Naramalli Sivaprasad, the TDP candidate from Chittoor (SC Reserved) Lok Sabha constituency, is not a political heavyweight and his popularity is limited to Andhra Pradesh. But, Sivaprasad had his moments of fame when he made national headlines by turning up in Parliament dressed up as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, B R Ambedkar, Charlie Chaplin, Chatrapathi Shivaji, M G Ramachandran. He also wore the costumes of a schoolboy, Muslim cleric, fisherman and farmer to impress upon the Narendra Modi government to grant Special Category Status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh.

Soon after the TDP severed its ties with the NDA and its two ministers quit the Modi government in March 2018 for denying SCS to Andhra Pradesh, Sivaprasad turned up in Parliament, dressed up as Hitler to send Modi the message that the prime minister should not follow the Nazi dictator.

"Modi had promised SCS to the people of Andhra Pradesh during 2014 Lok Sabha elections. But he did a U-turn. And, now he calls Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu as U-Turn Babu. Is this right?" asks Dr Sivaprasad.

In January this year, during the last session of the current Lok Sabha, Dr Sivaprasad came to the House dressed like former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M G Ramachandran. Holding a whip in his hand, he played a Tamil song in the House.

The lawmaker, who has acted in over 20 Telugu films, once came to the Lok Sabha in the costume of a cleaner. Again, his target was Modi. "We want Swachh Bharat along with Swachh Modi. The leader should be clean from his heart, but instead he is preaching cleanliness," the TDP MP had remarked.

In TDP stronghold of Chittoor, Sivaprasad is now pitted against YSRCP candidate and senior advocate M Reddappa. The MP has been facing criticism from certain quarters for trivialising the issue of SCS in Parliament and doing a little for his constituency. However, he says that as an actor it is his way of highlighting the demands of the people of Andhra Pradesh in Parliament.