Kiran Kumar Reddy left with egg on his face

Desaraju Surya

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy’s sarcastic remarks against Leader of Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu seem to be precipitating the crisis arising out of the latter’s indefinite hunger-strike that was into its sixth day today. At a time when the former Chief Minister’s health condition turned “alarming,” Kiran Kumar’s pun-laced remarks that “people have taken note of your hunger-strike” have only angered the Telugu Desam Party rank and file further and increased the determination of Chandrababu to take his struggle to its “logical conclusion.” The Chief Minister, while addressing a public meeting at Jadcherla in Mahbubnagar district, remarked: “Your attempt to be recognized as the ‘messiah of farmers’ has succeeded. People have taken note of your fast, so you can now call it off.” This left the TDP red-faced. “It is highly unbecoming of the Chief Minister to talk like that at his critical hour. It only shows how indifferent and negligent is he to the issue,” TDP politburo member and former Union minister Ummareddy Venkateswarlu said. “Our leader Chandrababu is determined to continue his indefinite hunger-strike and take it to the logical conclusion,” Ummareddy said. Two days ago, the Chief Minister remarked in New Delhi that the indefinite hunger-strike was Chandrababu’s “own headache.” Political observers here say that such remarks by Kiran Kumar emanated from his bitter personal animosity towards Chandrababu. Even some of his Cabinet colleagues admitted that Kiran’s comments showed him in poor light and compounded the current situation. “He (Kiran) should be diplomatic enough at least while making such remarks in the public. He can’t be so blunt. Otherwise, it exposes the personal grudge he holds against Chandrababu,” a senior minister pointed out. In fact, the Chief Minister spoke in a curt manner on resolving the indefinite fast issue when CPI state secretary K Narayana met and sought his intervention. “We have already discussed the issue in the Assembly and announced a relief package. We can’t do anything more on this,” Narayana quoted Kiran as telling him. Even Praja Rajyam Party president K Chiranjeevi’s phone call to the Chief Minister for making the TDP chief end his fast did not yield any response from Kiran.