Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has challenged Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) to topple the state government.
"I am waiting for you to topple it (government). Please topple it," the chief minister challenged KCR.
Reacting to the TRS president`s claim yesterday that it was not difficult to pull down Andhra Pradesh`s Congress government and that they had the strength to do it, the Chief Minister hit back strongly saying that the Congress was at nobody`s mercy.
"We are here not at anyone`s mercy. The Congress won 50 seats in Telangana in 2009 on its own strength while the TRS, despite being part of the grand alliance (with the TDP and the Left), won only 10 seats," Kiran pointed out.
Dubbing KCR as the "leader of a sub-regional party", Kiran lashed out against the former`s diatribe against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, besides Sonia Gandhi.
"Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were great leaders who sacrificed everything for the sake of the country. Sonia rejected the Prime
Minister`s post twice, while Manmohan Singh is widely acclaimed across the world as a great intellectual," the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister said.
"We warn KCR to mind his language. We are pained by his intemperate language, which brought disgrace to all Telugus. He doesn`t have the stature or right to take the names of such great leaders," he said.
"Is this your culture? It is unfortunate if you think you can become a big leader by badmouthing tall leaders. If you spit at the sky, it will fall on your face," AP CM Kiran Kumar Reddy told KCR.
He also warned the TRS president that he could not
achieve Telangana by raking up passions and letting people fight on the streets.
Referring to the Telangana demand, the Chief Minister wondered if seeking "some more time" to resolve the "sensitive, delicate and complicated" issue was a mistake or a crime.
"The Centre has to think coolly. The Congress has to think in terms of the country. Hence, they are taking time to take a decision," the Chief Minister said.
Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha and nine other ministers from Telangana were present at the press conference.
PTI
