Guntur (AP): Under attack over his alleged bribe offer, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today accused his Telangana counterpart K Chandrasekhar Rao of conspiring against him and called Sonia Gandhi a "betrayer" for dividing Andhra Pradesh.
In a strongly-worded attack over his name cropping up in the cash-for-votes controversy, Naidu warned Rao that things should not be stretched too far, in an attack that comes after his phone was tapped by the Telangana government.
"I said it earlier. They have indulged in politics of corruption and conspiracy. The Congress, TRS and YSR Congress party are again conspiring against me. I have lived with honesty and for public service. While Andhra Pradesh develops, this efficient KCR (Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao) is unable to do anything and is conspiring against me," he said.
Naidu was addressing the 'Maha Sankalpam' (grand vow) public meeting organised by the Andhra Pradesh government near here on the first anniversary of his government's formation.
He was speaking a day after audio tapes of his alleged conversation with a nominated MLA in the cash-for-votes controversy surfaced. A TDP MLA was arrested for allegedly trying to bribe a nominated MLA.
In an attack on Congress president Sonia Gandhi, he accused the party of doing injustice to Andhra Pradesh while bifurcating the state.
"When the state was bifurcated on June 2, we held the 'Nava Nirmana Deeksha'. That day was Italy's, Sonia Gandhi's native country's, independence day. On that day, we were hit on our stomach. Sonia Gandhi is such a leader. We cannot forget June 2 in our life," he said.
"Whenever June 2 arrives, we have to question the injustice done to us. Those who betrayed, they are betrayers of Telugu people and the Congress can never stand again," Naidu said.
Recalling that Hyderabad is the common capital for both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for ten years, Naidu said that he has equal powers along with the Telangana government.
"Khabardar (beware). You have to remember this," he said.
Noting that law and order in the city is in the hands of the Governor, who is now common for both states, he said he cannot be cowed down by threats done through "phone tapping, sting operations and fabricated documents".
"All parties should stick to the election code during elections. Doing sting operations, creating wrong documents and tapping phones, just because your government is in power, is highly deplorable. Governments have fallen because of phone tapping," he said.
Saying that he is not merely an individual but the AP Chief Minister, he questioned, "Who gave the power to KCR to tap my phones? Am I a servant of KCR in Telangana?"
