Rich tributes paid to NTR on his death anniversary

KAKINADA: Telugu Desam Party leaders and cadre in East and West Godavari districts paid rich tributes to party founder and former chief minister N.T. Rama Rao (NTR) on his death anniversary on Monday. 

MLC Chikkala Ramachandra Rao, and senior leaders Jyothula Naveen Kumar, Vanamadi Venkateswara Rao (Kondababu), Datla Buchiraju and others garlanded the statue of NTR near Zilla Parishad centre and paid homage. 

Ramachandra Rao said that NTR played an unforgettable role in Indian politics and he himself drafted principles and ideologies to uplift the poor and earned the self-respect of Telugu people. He urged the Union Government to confer NTR with a posthumous Bharat Ratna. Kondababu said that NTR pioneered several welfare schemes for the poor.

Meanwhile, At Rajamahendravaram, former GUDA chairman Ganni Krishna garlanded the statue of NTR near Arts College gate. He said that NTR took the reputation of Telugus to New Delhi.

At Kadapa, a blood donation camp was organized under the auspices of Telugu youth. Party leaders anointed and paid homage to the NTR statue while under the auspices of Balakrishna Family Association’s state president Peeraiah, TD leaders distributed clothes to sanitation workers.

Mallela Lingareddy, president of the Telugu Desam Kadapa Parliamentary Party, said that NTR gave a new definition to politics while state executive secretary Balishetti Hariprasad said that NTR lit up millions of households. Kadapa constituency in-charge VS Ameer Babu, former director of fisheries corporation Yatagiri Ramprasad and others participated.

Tributes were paid on Pottipadu Road in Proddatur, Kadapa district. Proddatur constituency in-charge Dr. G.V. Praveen Kumar said that soldiers will work tirelessly for realization of the aspirations of the great leader. He was accompanied by state secretary V.S. Mukhtiar and party town president EV Sudhakar Reddy.

Meanwhile, Visakhapatnam North MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao skipped the death anniversary meeting organised in TDP urban office on Monday. He, however, was seen at the garlanding function on beach road along with other MLAs Velagapudi Ramakrishnababu, PVGR Naidu (Ganababu) and former MLA Palla Srinivasa Rao.

“We were not surprised at his absence. He has been keeping a distance from all party activities when rumours of his joining YSRCP were making rounds in political circles,’’ said a senior leader of the party about Ganta Srinivasa Rao.

But the former minister’s close aides defended his absence stating that Srinivasa Rao was busy in attending other programmes in connection with the death anniversary of their founder.

The state observed the death anniversary and attendance of party workers and sympathisers was good, said party vice-president Pasarla Prasad.