Spawned by the alleged cash-for-vote scam, wrangling between ruling parties of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh continued today with second-rung leaders from Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) trading charges at each other.
A day after AP Chief Minister Chandra Babu Naidu met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi to air his grievances against Telengana counterpart K Chandrasekhar Rao, TRS leader and state minister Tummala Nageswara Rao said the TDP supremo's behaviour "shamed Telugu people."
"By shouting at media, people or somebody else, we cannot conceal the truth," he said, alluding to the audio tape aired by local channels in which Naidu had purportedly sought the support of a nominated legislator for his party nominee in the Telangana Legislative Council election.
Hitting back, TDP floor leader in AP Assembly Errabelli Dayakar Rao accused Rao of indulging in corruption by encouraging defections from TDP and other parties.
Relishing the slanging match between the two regional parties, the Congress said they appeared to be engaged in a "competition to abuse each other."
"They are abusing each other. There is a competition going on," senior Congress leader Mohammad Ali Shabbir said.
Meanwhile, Naidu, his cabinet colleagues and leaders from Congress and other parties attended the engagement ceremony of TDP MLA in Telangana A Revanth Reddy, who was arrested for allegedly trying to bribe a nominated MLA to vote in favour of his party in the Legislative Council election.
A local court yesterday granted him interim bail for a day to attend the function and the presence of Naidu is seen as an expression of solidarity with the beleaguered legislator.
Upping ante against Rao, Naidu yesterday met Modi and demanded a probe into alleged illegal phone tapping.
"Telangana government is biased... How can anybody do illegal tapping, it is unfair, it is unethical. They have to investigate at high level committee and appropriate action should be taken on this," Naidu had said after his meeting with the Prime Minister.
However, Rao rejected the charge asserting that his government has not indulged in any such thing.
"The government of Telangana has not tapped anybody's phone. It is 1,000 per cent abundantly clear. Yesterday, the DGP, who is inquiring into the whole case of bribery, has abundantly said that we did not tap anybody's phone," he said.
