The sudden affection displayed by Vemuri Radhakrishna, chairman of Andhra Jyothy Telugu daily, towards BJP, in his weekly column Kotha Paluku on Saturday has evoked a sharp retort from BJP state unit president Somu Veerraju.
In his column, Radhakrishna made a sharp attack on BJP national spokesman G V L Narasimha Rao for questioning the propriety of Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu in writing a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a comprehensive inquiry into the allegations of telephone tapping.
He also pointed an accusing finger at GVL for saying that the Centre had no role to play in the capital location of Andhra Pradesh.
“It is better if the BJP national leadership rein in GVL at the earliest. Otherwise, the BJP will have to face further setback in Andhra Pradesh. It is for you to decide,” Radhakrishna advised the BJP national leadership.
Reacting sharply to Radhakrishna’s comments against GVL in the weekly column, Veerraju wrote an open letter expressing surprise as to why Andhra Jyothy owner was showing so much concern for the BJP in AP.
“People have not forgotten how you and your media house have attacked the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi till last year. Now, you appear to be showing concern over the fate of BJP in Andhra Pradesh. Even a small child can say your concern is not for the BJP but for the Telugu Desam Party and its boss N Chandrababu Naidu,” Veerraju said.
He pointed out that the TDP had suffered heavily in the last elections because of the bad advices given by Radhakrishna to Naidu.
“If you continue to give such advices, the TDP will not be able to retain even 23 seats and might not get even two or three assembly seats,” the Andhra BJP president said.