At a time when the Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu is warming up to the BJP for a possible alliance, his estranged brother-in-law and actor Nandamuri Harikrishna attacked the saffron party for supporting the division of Andhra Pradesh.
Indirectly faulting the TDP for yearning to get closer to BJP, Harikrishna, who had quit his Rajya Sabha seat in support of the united AP cause, said that the saffron party should understand and appreciate the sentiments and concerns of the Seemandhra people.
"As they are observing the 63rd death anniversary of great freedom fighter Sardar Patel, they should keep in mind the fact that Sardar had worked for unity and played a stellar role in merging the princely states with the Indian unity. But, the BJP is unfortunately supporting division of Andhra Pradesh," the former Minister said.
His comments will surely cause embarrassment to the TDP leadership which is trying to revive alliance with the BJP after a gap of nine years.
The TDP had in the past dubbed BJP as "communal party" and was among the NDA allies which had unequivocally demanded dismissal of Narendra Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister after the 2002 anti-Muslim riots.
Recently, in its "Muslim Declaration" document, the TDP had categorically said that it would not support the BJP under any circumstances. However, of late, Naidu has been making moves to cozy up to the saffron party and has publicly praised Modi's administrative skills and Gujarat model of development.
He attended the swearing-in ceremony of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan in Bhopal on Saturday and had a one-on-one meeting with Modi and other top BJP leaders. There is speculation in the media that the two parties might formalize the alliance in January, ahead of the general elections in April/May, 2014.
