Andhra ministers slam Rajinikanth for praising Chandrababu Naidu

AMARAVATI: Andhra Pradesh ministers and leaders of ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) have come down heavily on Tamil superstar Rajinikanth after the latter praised former chief minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu.

Tourism minister R. K. Roja slammed Rajninkanth for the praise lavished on Naidu. Roja, a former actor, called the superstar's comments ridiculous.

While addressing centenary celebrations of TDP founder and former chief minister N. T. Rama Rao at Vijayawada on Friday, Rajinikanth had heaped praise on Naidu for his vision and the progress achieved by Hyderabad when he was the chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh.

Roja reminded Rajnikanth that Naidu was the chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh till 2004 and during the last 20 years, Hyderabad has seen development without Naidu.

Water Resources Minister Ambati Rambabu described Rajinikanth as a "coward". He said the actor announced his entry into politics but later ran away. "Rajinikanth is not competent to speak about politics," he said.

The minister recalled that Rajinikanth stood by Naidu even when the latter removed his father-in-law NTR from power.

YSRCP leader Kodali Nani remarked that Rajinikanth may be a hero in Tamil Nadu but he is a zero in Andhra Pradesh. "Do we need to hear from Rajinikanth about Chandrababu Naidu," he asked.

Nani said the Tamil super star spoke a lot about the great qualities of NTR. "I want to ask him why he did not come to help NTR when he was attacked at Viceroy Hotel in Hyderabad," he asked, referring to the Naidu-led revolt against NTR in 1995.

The YSRCP leader said that nobody is ready to believe what all Rajinikanth said about Naidu's vision. He also remarked that the actor does shoots for films for three days and spends six days in hospital.

Calling Naidu a visionary, Rajinikanth has said that it was Naidu's vision of developing Andhra Pradesh that would take the state to great heights in the country in the coming years.

The veteran actor said that Naidu is planning to develop Andhra Pradesh with a Vision 2047, and if that project gets implemented, Andhra will reach great heights in India. He prayed to the almighty to give Naidu the strength and power to implement it.

Rajinikanth claimed that Naidu had spoken about the Information Technology (IT) industry boom in the late 1990s when no one had even thought about it.

The actor said Naidu spoke about Vision 2020 in 1996 and how the IT industry would become a boom. Business tycoons like Bill Gates also appreciated Naidu and then set up their companies, he added.