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TDP demands Raju's disqualification

Shireen in Hyderabad

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party president Nara Chandrababu Naidu has held a meeting with his party's Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members.

Eight of the 12 Lok Sabha members besides five Rajya Sabha members attended the dinner meeting at his Jubilee Hill residence in Hyderabad on Thursday night.

Of the remaining four Lok Sabha members, Satrucherla Vijayarama Raju has already announced support for the Congress while Speaker Ganti Mohana Chandra Balayogi and Telugu Desam Parliamentary Party leader K Yerran Naidu are away in Delhi. Another member, Dr S Venugopalachary, is away in his native town Nirmal in Adilabad district.

There was no briefing by the chief minister or the TDP spokesman after the meeting. However, in an informal chat with the media, the MPs said that the TD parliamentary party was 'united' and there was no question of any of the 11 remaining Lok Sabha members deserting the party.

They decried the attempts to lure some of them to cross over to the Congress which is trying to form an alternative government at the Centre.

The MPs reposed faith in Naidu's leadership and assured him that they would frustrate the Congress attempts to split the TDPP. "We are all one and there is no question of anyone leaving the party," said Nizamabad MP G Ganga Reddy.

Warangal MP Ajmeera Chandulal said that the Congress was making attempts to entice some members but it would not succeed.

Other Lok Sabha members who attended the meeting echoed similar views.

Naidu, in his interaction with the party MPs, heard 'first-hand' accounts of the political situation in Delhi and the Congress attempts to lure the members of other parties. He asked the party MPs to be 'available' in Hyderabad on Friday for further consultations to finalise the party's strategy in the emerging political scenario.

The Lok Sabha members who attended the meeting were K Pydithalli Naidu (representing Bobbili), N Ramakrishna Reddy (Chittoor), Bhooma Nagi Reddy (Nandyal), Ajmeera Chandulal (Warangal), M Rajaiah (Siddipet), G Ganga Reddy (Nizamabad), Chada Suresh Reddy (Hanamkonda) and Ch Suguna Kumari (Peddapalli).

In another development, the TDPP leader K Yerran Naidu submitted a petition to the Lok Sabha Speaker, seeking the disqualification of Raju under the provisions of the Anti-Defection Act.

The TDPP said that the member's statement announcing support for Congress president Sonia Gandhi was tantamount to 'defection' under the provisions of the Anti-Defection Act. The TDPP also urged the Speaker to debar Raju from participating in a possible vote of confidence of the next government.

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