Chandrababu Naidu Calls Sonia Gandhi ‘Traitor’

Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu blamed Congress president Sonia Gandhi for what he called the “bitter dream and humiliation that was the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh,” calling her a “traitor.”

“Sonia Gandhi is a traitor. She decided to bifurcate our state on Italy’s birthday,” alleged Mr Naidu, who completes one year in office today.

Italy, Mrs Gandhi’s country of birth, celebrates its Republic Day on June 2.

It was on June 2 last year that Andhra Pradesh was formally split to create the new state of Telangana. The residual portions of Andhra Pradesh – together called Seemandhra – bitterly opposed the bifurcation and punished the Congress, which ruled both at the Centre and the state when the move was initiated, in state elections last year.

Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party won the elections in Andhra Pradesh. The people of Telangana too rejected the Congress, crediting the Telangana Rashtra Samiti or TRS for the birth of the new state, a long-standing demand. TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao took over as the first chief minister.

While KCR was sworn in last year on June 2, Mr Naidu too oath of office on June 8. The two states share a governor and a state capital in Hyderabad for now.

Celebrating one year in office, Mr Naidu in his address today also promised his state “world recognition” and said he would strive to make it the “number one state in the country.”

He also hit out at Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress, the chief opposition in the state, accusing it of scripting a political conspiracy in neighbouring Telangana, where a lawmaker from Mr Naidu’s TDP was arrested last week, allegedly for attempting to bribe a nominated MLA to vote for his party in elections to the legislative council.

The ruling TRS and the YSR Congress have alleged that the TDP lawmaker, Revanth Reddy was acting on the orders of Mr Naidu and have demanded that he be investigated.

Mr Naidu’s TDP has called what is being called the cash-for-vote scandal a political conspiracy scripted to discredit Mr Naidu and has filed cases of defamation and illegal phone tapping against Telangana Chief Minister KCR.