BJP sidelined Venkaiah by making him VP: Chandrababu

Andhra Pradesh chief minister Nara Chandrababu on Friday said that M Venkiah Naidu, a tall leader from South India was sidelined by the BJP in the name of promotion as vice president of the country but in fact, it was a punishment. Naidu made these scathing comments while speaking in the state Assembly in Amaravati on Friday.

“There is no one left in the BJP to represent the south at the centre. Venkaiah Naidu is the only leader for BJP in the south. He is a leader who has friendly relations with all the southern states. But he was sidelined. It only proves the centre's lack of respect for the south" said the TDP Chief. Other than Sadadnada Gowda there is no one from the south in the union cabinet, Naidu added.

"Do we look like bonded labour?" asked Naidu replying to the comments of BJP floor leader Vishnu Kumar Raju that centre has done a lot for the Andhra Pradesh. “We got peanuts when compared with Gujarat and Tamilnadu. Do you know how many premier institutions are there in Hyderabad, Bangalore or Chennai,” he asked. He expressed dismay over the indifference of the union budget towards setting up a separate railway zone in Visakhapatnam, a promise made in the bifurcation Act.

Bandh Peaceful

The chief minister and TDP MLAs wore black badges and dresses and attended the Assembly in solidarity with the one-day statewide bandh call given by Special Category Status Sadhana Samithi. However, the entire opposition stayed away from the bandh.

The bandh affected normal life in all major towns such as Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada except the temple town Tirupati. Buses stayed off the roads with the agitators blocking the way of the buses at the bus depots right from early morning. Amaravati JAC and APNJOs supported the bandh. South Central Railway ran the trains with normal frequency with extra supervision by the Railway Police. Educational institutions remained closed.