MAY 1, 2023
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu on Monday slammed Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for the attack by leaders of YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) on superstar Rajinikanth. He said the chief minister and his party leaders should apologise for attacking Rajinikanth, who recently delivered a speech during the birth centenary celebrations of TDP founder NT Rama Rao held at Vijayawada.
Naidu said the indecent criticism of the superstar who had shared his relationship and experiences with NTR, was “offensive and outrageous”, according to the news agency IANS. He said the vile comments made by the YSRCP leaders on a legendary personality like Rajinikanth, who is highly respected in the society, were hurting everyone.
Naidu, who served as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh from 2014 to 2019, said Rajinikanth neither criticised the actions of the state government nor said anything bad about anyone but only shared his views on a few issues. The Telugu people, he said, will not tolerate the pointless criticism of Rajinikanth made out of extreme arrogance.
Naidu told the chief minister that his party leaders’ criticism of Rajinikanth was like spitting on the sky. He said CM Jagan Mohan Reddy should rein in loose cannons and apologise for what has happened.
During his speech on April 28, Rajinikanth praised Chandrababu Naidu. He had also lauded Naidu for his vision and the progress achieved by Hyderabad when he was the chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh.
However, this irked many ruling party leaders who targeted Rajinikanth. Tourism minister RK Roja, a former actor, called the superstar’s comments “ridiculous”.
Minister for water resources Ambati Rambabu called Rajinikanth a coward. He said the actor announced his entry into politics but later ran away. “Rajinikanth is not competent to speak about politics,” he said.
YSRCP leader Kodali Nani said Rajinikanth may be a hero in Tamil Nadu but he was a zero in Andhra Pradesh. He said nobody was ready to believe what all Rajinikanth said about Naidu’s vision. He also said that the actor does shooting for films for three days and spends six days in hospital.
Courtesy/Source: Business Today / PTI
