The presence of Telangana minister for cinematography, animal husbandry and fisheries Talasani Srinivasa Yadav at the swearing-in ceremony of newly-elected executive committee members of Movie Artistes’ Association (MAA) in Hyderabad on Saturday added political touch to the function.
It is not immediately known whether Talasani attended the swearing-in ceremony of the MAA executive body as the chief guest in his personal capacity or as the representative of the Telangana state government.
If Talasani attended the function in his personal capacity, there is no issue as he happens to be a close friend of Mohan Babu, father of actor and newly-elected MAA president Manchu Vishnu, right from the days of their association with the Telugu Desam Party.
But if he was present as the representative of the Telangana government as a minister holding the cinematography portfolio, then it gives rise to a lot of speculations.
If MAA invited Talasani as the state government’s representative, then it would have invited Andhra Pradesh government representative – Perni Nani, as well.
There is an open talk that Manchu Vishnu has the backing of YSR Congress party government since he is closely related to party president and chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
In fact, the latest war of words during the MAA elections was even linked to Vishnu’s relationship with Jagan.
Though Nani clarified that the AP government or YSRC has nothing to do with the MAA elections, the controversy did not subside.
On the other hand, the Telangana government kept itself away from all sorts of controversy; yet, there was an attempt to drag Telangana IT minister K T Rama Rao into the muddle.
Under these circumstances, Talasani’s presence at the MAA function has led to the talk that Manchu Vishnu panel also had the backing of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and the state government.
As if lending credence to this talk, Talasani made some interesting comments stating that the MAA elections were fought as if they were assembly or Lok Sabha elections.
“It is not an ordinary election. At last, a young and dynamic leader has won the election,” he said.
The minister also lavished praises on Vishnu, stating that Mohan Babu had groomed his children with a lot of discipline and because of this discipline, Vishnu had won the election.
“Mohan Babu is a person who points out mistakes boldly. He is doing a lot of service for the people with his educational institutions,” he said.
Stating that Vishnu team well deserved the victory, Talasani assured that the Telangana government would extend all possible help to MAA to achieve its objectives.
