MLC Palla Rajeshwar Reddy and Government Whip Guvvala Balaraju at a press meet on Friday.
Hyderabad: The TRS leaders came down heavily on former Minister Eatala Rajender on Friday for his slanderous remarks against the party and its president and Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. They said just like many others who had left the party earlier, Rajender too was criticising TRS which gave him political life. They said that he should explain why he continued in the party all these years and also took oath as a Minister if he was not given respect.
SC Development Minister Koppula Eshwar said the Chief Minister had never disrespected Rajender and had instead appreciated him during the Cabinet meetings as well as public meetings on many occasions. He stated that the Ministers can express their objections or suggestions on any decisions taken by the government during the Cabinet meetings. “But Rajender supported all the Cabinet decisions during the meetings and spoke against them in public. If he was opposed to the government policies, he should have resigned long ago. Despite being a Minister, he spoke against the government decisions. Doesn’t this amount to waging war against the government?” he questioned.
BC Welfare Minister Gangula Kamalakar ridiculed his former colleague’s new found love for the Backward Classes and other weaker sections, stating that the latter had no moral right to speak about them. He demanded that the BJP leaders including Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy and BJP State president Bandi Sanjay not to admit Rajender into their party without doing justice to the victims whose lands were encroached upon by the former Minister. “If they allow Rajender to join BJP without him giving up the lands belonging to the poor as well as the endowment lands, it can be assumed that they are supporting his corrupt practices,” he added.
Government Whip Guvvala Balaraju declared that nothing can protect Rajender who amassed wealth illegally by encroaching upon assigned lands and ran his businesses. He stated that the Chief Minister was forced to drop Rajender from the Cabinet as he was oppressing the poor and had encroached their lands forcibly.
MLC and Rythu Bandhu Samithi chairman Palla Rajeshwar Reddy stated that the former Minister was given due respect within the party and the government over several years. He pointed out that despite having several senior leaders, Rajender was made the TRS Legislative Party leader in undivided Andhra Pradesh and later was appointed as a Minister twice in TRS government. He said the Chief Minister responding to a complaint lodged by the citizen of the State was not dictatorship, but democracy.
MLC Basvaraju Saraiah said Eatala Rajender had won Huzurabad MLC seat on the TRS symbol of Car and its pink flag. He reminded that the latter was one of the scores of TRS foot soldiers of Chandrashekhar Rao during the Telangana movement. He said Rajender will lose the by-election to be held for Huzurabad Assembly constituency since it was a TRS stronghold and not that of Rajender.