Hyderabad: Praja Rajyam Party president K
Chiranjeevi has totally ruled out the question of merging his
15-month-old outfit with the ruling Congress in Andhra
Pradesh.
"We shall not even entertain such thoughts," Chiranjeevi
told a press conference here today. Chiranjeevi reacted rather
angrily to the suggestion made by some Congress leaders,
including Agriculture Minister N Raghuveera Reddy, that it
would be better if the PRP merged with the national party.
"Such suggestions only indicate that the Congress has
weakened. But we shall never entertain such thoughts,"
Chiranjeevi added.
Questioned on what basis the PRP sought to align with the
Congress for the elections to Greater Hyderabad Municipal
Corporation, he said it was only to ensure total development
of Hyderabad city. "Not that our philosophies are same but our
focus is on the total development of the state capital. Hence
we wanted to come together for the GHMC polls," Chiranjeevi
observed.
He, however, was highly critical of the Congress for
neglecting the development of Hyderabad in the last five
years. "Hyderabad has become out of bounds for common people
and it has become a haven only for the rich. The situation has
so worsened that the common man cannot even afford to buy even
a square yard of land," the PRP chief pointed out.
Then why did the PRP crave for an alliance with such
party, Chiranjeevi was asked. “There is a bit of optimism that
at least now something will be done for the betterment of the
city. We thought the ruling party would correct its mistakes
and contribute to the development of the city,” he noted.
On the stillborn alliance with the Congress, the PRP
chief said only the second rung leaders of his party had talks
with the ruling party leadership. “It hasn’t actually come to
me. But the Congress backed out following its internal
turmoil,” he said.
Asked if the PRP would now adopt a soft approach towards
the Congress, Chiranjeevi replied in the negative. “We will
have no soft or friendly approach towards anyone,” he
asserted. PRP would align with like-minded parties in future
“based on the situation and the need.”
Chiranjeevi exuded confidence that the PRP would put up a
better show in the GHMC elections. Besides the 51 official
candidates it announced initially, the party has fielded 13
others, including six Congress rebels, for the elections.
"In the general elections, we got a vote share of 12 per
cent in the Greater Hyderabad region. Now we hope to improve
our performance and win maximum number of seats,” Chiranjeevi
added. The PRP would release its manifesto for the GHMC
elections on Friday while Chiranjeevi would launch the
campaign from Thursday.
Bureau Report
First Published: Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 17:30