Ms NTR ignored at NTR coin fete

VIJAYWADA: The release of a Rs 100 commemorative coin to mark the 100th birth anniversary of former chief minister N.T. Rama Rao by President Droupadi Murmu at a programme held in Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Monday turned controversial, with his wife Lakshmi Parvathi claiming that she “was not invited” to the programme, subjecting not only herself but also late NTR also to humiliation. 

Lakshmi Parvathi, while addressing mediapersons, sought to find out whether it was an official programme where the President released the coin or a personal programme. She said that in case it was an official programme, it was a violation of protocol, as she was not invited despite being the wife of NTR and his legal heir.

She wanted to take up the issue with President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union finance minister Nirmala Sitaraman for not inviting her.

However, she said that even in case it was an unofficial programme, she would not tolerate the humiliation she was subjected to. She alleged that AP BJP chief D. Purandeswari was trying to bring about unity among family members, including TD chief N. Chandrababu Naidu, for political gains given the upcoming elections.

She lashed out at the AP BJP chief, who is also NTR’s eldest daughter, for switching loyalties from the Congress to the BJP, despite getting the opportunity to serve as a Union minister in the Congress Cabinet for two terms. She exhorted BJP leaders not to trust Purandewari, as, “despite being the party chief in AP, she was working in collusion with the TD and extending all support to it.”

Parvathi said that although the Centre wanted to honour NTR by presenting him the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award, posthumously, Purandeswari influenced the Centre to stop it only for the reason that she would be invited to accept the award, being the wife of NTR.

She said that despite AP Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy maintaining good rapport with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and getting a lot of support from the Centre for the development of the state, Purandeswari was resorting to a misinformation campaign against the state on issues of finance, among others, to tarnish its image.

The wife of late NTR vowed to target Purandeswari, former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and his wife Bhuvaneswari in the upcoming polls by touring all over AP to expose their misdeeds.

Parvathi, who is a YSR Congress leader and chairperson of the Telugu and Sanskrit Academy, said, “Everyone knows that NTR married me and made it public. I need not prove every time that I am his wife. When all family members failed to provide any care to NTR, I did so. I served him when he suffered three heart strokes and suffered partial paralysis. Purandeswari is trying to instigate family members to exploit the charisma of NTR for political gains.”

Later, Parvathi claimed that she got information from the Centre that the release of commemorative coin by the President was a private programme taken up at the request of Purandeswari and she was not invited to the programme because of the same.

Moreover, she claimed that the government mint authorities told her that the coin did not have a legal tender and it could be purchased for Rs 4,708.74, with only 12,000 coins minted in the first phase. She blamed Purandeswari for creating hype about the coin release, given it had no legal validity. 

Meanwhile, the presence of BJP national president J.P. Nadda at the coin release programme added political colour to it while YSR Congress leaders remained tight-lipped on Lakshmi Parvathi not getting an invite to the programme.