Andhra Pradesh minister for roads and buildings Chintakayala Ayyanna Patrudu is a no nonsense leader in the Telugu Desam Party.
He does not mince words in criticising leaders, even if it is his own party boss and chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
On Tuesday, Ayyanna took pot shots at Naidu, albeit indirectly, on his election as TDP national president once again at the just concluded Mahanadu and his call to the people to elect him as the chief minister once again in 2019 assembly elections.
“In my view, it will be good for senior and ageing leaders to quit politics making way for the young leaders. One should not cling to the top posts like chief minister till their old age, like Karunanidhi of DMK in Tamil Nadu. Instead, they should encourage youngsters,” Ayyanna said.
He suggested that 50 per cent of the party tickets in the next elections to youth and the old leaders should gracefully retire from politics.
“The old leaders should not insist that they will hold posts till their end, like Karunanidhi,” the minister said at a party meeting.
Well, it is not clear whether Ayyanna wants Naidu to make way for his son Lokesh or the leader of the opposition Y S Jaganmohan Reddy as his successor.
Ayyanna, who calls a spade a spade, said he also brought to light the administrative lapses in the TDP government and alerted Naidu.
“In Visakhapatnam, the officials are calling the shots with scant regard to the local representatives,” he said.
