Nagam-Naidu duel reaches tipping point

VV Balakrishna
Express News Service
First Published : 08 Mar 2011 04:45:09 AM IST
Last Updated : 08 Mar 2011 12:34:28 PM IST

HYDERABAD: The long simmering differences between TDP Telangana Forum (TTDPF) convenor Nagam Janardhan Reddy and party chief N Chandrababu Naidu reached a flash point on Monday with the former threatening to chalk out his own path “if the Centre refuses to concede a T State or the TDP fails to take a pro-T stand.”

The declaration came soon after an ugly spat between Nagam and five TDP Telangana legislators in the State Assembly, in the presence of Naidu. Nagam single-handedly disrupted the proceedings and forced adjournment of the House for the day.

Later, he claimed the support of a majority of the party’s 38 T legislators who stayed away from the Assembly proceedings. Though MLAs Revanth Reddy and M Narasimhulu disputed his contention, late in the evening, about 19 T MLAs of the party skipped a meeting convened by Chandrababu Naidu lending credence to Nagam’s claims. The Nagam act was waiting to happen, notwithstanding the dramatic nature of the development. He had been at odds with Naidu on the strategy to be adopted in and outside the Assembly. While the TDP chief wanted his men to focus on pressing people’s issues, Nagam’s view was that at a time when the Telangana stir was in full swing, it would be fool hardy to champion other causes.

Hence, though the TTDPF had on Saturday decided to call off its “Assembly boycott” — since the T employees in whose support the call was given had themselves withdrawn their “non-cooperation movement”— Nagam remained unconvinced and vowed to stall the Assembly proceedings. True to his word, he played the lone warrior, with some support from Banswada MLA Pocharam Srinivas Reddy who had recently quit the TDP.

The TDP chief had been consistently nipping the plans of Nagam in the bud. Nagam had proposed many things, including a separate party unit for Telangana and coordination with other parties on the T issue, to name a few.

However, Naidu rubbished them all and instead advised his T men to work out their own strategy and ensure the party’s survival in the region.

Now that Nagam has taken his campaign a notch higher, what will Naidu do? Going by the verbal duel during the day, it appears that the former chief minister will encourage party’s T MLAs M Narasimhulu, A Revanth Reddy and others and sideline Nagam. He may also exclude Nagam from the proposed coordination committee on T. In short, he may make it too hot for Nagam to stay in the party.

Narasimhulu and Revanth Reddy, in a sign of the things to come, locked horns with Nagam, accusing him of “ditching” them and acting at the behest of a “political party” (read TRS). They in fact branded him a Drohi of not only the T cause but also of the TDP. Nagam, though, scoffed and claimed he was acting at the behest of the people.