Congress says Chandrababu Naidu must go

Hyderabad: Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member K. Chiranjeevi on Tuesday criticised AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for his inefficiency in preventing the stampede on the first day of the Godavari Pushkaralu.

He said that it was for Mr Naidu to decide whether to resign from his post, owning moral responsibility. Addressing a news conference at Gandhi Bhavan here, Mr Chiranjeevi, along with APCC president N. Raghuveera Reddy, said it had now been proved beyond doubt that Mr Naidu did everything for publicity without possessing any of the administrative skills that he often boasted of.

Mr Chiranjeevi said it was the Telugu Desam leader who had made a hue and cry when a few deaths had been reported during late Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy’s regime during the Krishna Pushkaralu in 2004. They asked how Mr Naidu was going to cover up his inefficiency with 27 devotees killed in Tuesday’s mishap.

The Congress leaders said that having invested Rs 1,600 crore for conducting the mega event, the AP government had failed to anticipate such a mass turnout on the very first day, that too in the very first hour. “We demand his resignation if he won’t do it. But he should himself think whether to resign from his post or not, whether he is going to own up responsibility for the mishap or not?” Mr Chiranjeevi said.

He said TD MLAs and ministers had told the media several times that all arrangements were being made by the CM alone. APCC president Raghuveera Reddy said, “Mr Naidu committed a grave sin by setting up late NTR’s statue at the ghat. It was Mr Naidu who backstabbed NTR and to cover up his sin, he put up the statue. For this, devotees had to pay the price by sacrificing valuable lives.”