Telugu Desam Party founder-president and former chief minister N T Rama Rao’s widow Nandamuri Lakshmi Parvathi on Saturday staged a unique protest at her husband’s Samadhi, pleading him to take a “rebirth” in the state to save the Telugu people and uphold their self-respect.
Lakshmi Parvathi wrote a four-page letter to her deceased husband and placed it at the Samadhi before staging a silent sit-in there.
In the letter, she expressed deep regrets over the way TDP president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu had mortgaged the self-respect of Telugus by prostrating before Congress president Rahul Gandhi for selfish political interests.
“I don’t know how you take the rebirth on the earth. You may even put in your soul into a strong and honest leader who can restore the pride of the Telugu people and rule the state with principles. I am waiting for the day when people of Andhra Pradesh will get back their pride and self-respect,” she said.
She recalled what NTR had told her about the reasons to float the TDP.
“You had sacrificed your 35-year old precious career in films and dedicated your life for the Telugu people. You had founded the TDP to uphold the Telugu self-respect and pride. You launched several schemes for the welfare of the poor. Even when you lost power in 1989, you had not compromised on your principles and joined hands with any other party,” she recalled.
Lakshmi Parvathi regretted that his son-in-law N Chandrababu Naidu, who had dethroned him in a villainous revolt in 1994, had mortgaged the TDP before the Congress.
“I could not control my tears on seeing Naidu surrendering before Rahul Gandhi seeking an opportunistic alliance. Hence, I came to you to express my anguish,” she said.