It looks like there is none in YSRCP, not even its president and CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, to control the loose tongue of Andhra Pradesh civil supplies minister Kodali Venkateshwara Rao alias Nani.
At a time when Jagan is making efforts to maintain friendly relations with the NDA government in general and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in particular so as to get maximum benefits to the state, Kodali is playing spoilsport with the efforts of the chief minister.
On Wednesday, Nani came to Tirupati, along with endowments minister Vellampalli Srinivas, to welcome the chief minister who would be participating in the Brahmotsavams of Lord Venkateshwara on Tirumala.
Instead of maintaining restraint at least in the temple town, Nani foul-mouthed his political rivals again. This time, he targeted even the Prime Minister.
Reacting to the demand of the BJP leaders that Jagan, if he had faith in the temple rituals, should bring his wife Bharati to Tirumala temple to present silk clothes to the Lord, the civil supplies minister shot back saying the BJP leaders should first give the advice to Modi.
“The Prime Minister goes alone to Ayodhya temple to lay foundation stone and so does UP chief minister. Why should Jagan bring his wife to the temple? First let them ask Modi to go to Ram temple along with his wife to perform pujas; then ask Jagan to do so. These BJP leaders themselves were dragging Modi to streets,” Nani thundered.
The minister shot back at the demand of state BJP president Somu Veerraju that Jagan should sack him from the cabinet.
“If I go with some ten people and make a demand to the Prime Minister to sack Amit Shah or Kishan Reddy, will he sack them? It is better BJP leaders look after their own party affairs, rather than poking their nose into the activities of other parties,” he said.
He said the BJP which got lesser vote share than NOTA had no stature to make demands or give suggestions to Jagan who secured more than 50 per cent of votes in the last elections.
He alleged that the attacks on temple had been on the rise ever since Somu Veerraju took over as the state BJP chief.
Nani reiterated his statement that there should be a debate on the TTD rule seeking faith declaration by non-Hindus before entering Tirumala temple.
“The TTD itself has asked the chief minister to present silk clothes to the Lord. Why should he give declaration of his faith? He is beyond all the religions. If he goes to a temple, he is a Hindu. And in a mosque, he is a Muslim and in a church, he is a Christian,” the minister asserted.