Its going to be fight between “Telangana First” vs “Family First” in next election: Marri Shashidhar Reddy

Main Opposition party, the Congress, had failed to pin down the government said former Congress leader

Former vice chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and ex-Congress MLA from Sanatnagar constituency Marri Shashidhar Reddy said in the coming days the political fight will be between those putting “Telangana First” and those putting “Family First” like the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS).

“I never imagined this day would come,” he said, after joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in New Delhi in the presence of a galaxy of senior leaders, including Union Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, his cabinet colleague G. Kishan Reddy, TS party president Bandi Sanjay Kumar, Rajya Sabha MP K. Laxman, and others on Friday.

Mr. Shashidhar Reddy listed two reasons for him to join the saffron party — while the long felt dream of having a separate Telangana has been realised but the manner in which the State was being run against the aspirations of the people with the TRS government becoming the “most corrupt” across the world.

Secondly, the main Opposition party — the Congress Party — has totally “failed in its duty” in pinning down the government, he charged. “There is a need to show TRS its place and it is only the BJP that can do it. I will do my bit as a humble party worker to help it bring to power in the next elections,” he said.

The four-time MLA from Secunderabad constituency said he was also influenced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration of the country and the kind of message he had sent to the Telangana people from the Begumpet airport recently while addressing partymen.

Mr. Kishan Reddy called the ex-Congressman as a “courageous and honest” politician who will certainly help in strengthening the party in TS at a time when the “TS people are seeking a change through the BJP to get rid of the arrogant, corrupt and family rule of TRS”.

He once again accused Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao of “feeling insecure”, hence “brazenly misusing” official machinery and “spreading canards” against the Centre and the BJP to “save his government” and “protect his family”. But, TRS is “digging its own grave” in trying to gain sympathy by coming out with fresh “conspiracies”. “We are not scared, let them do what they want,” he said.