NEW DELHI: The former Union minister, Mr. P. Upendra, said on Sunday that by expelling him from the Telugu Desam even without issuing a show-cause, the party f, Mr NT. Rama Rao, had betrayed his “dictatorial tendencies.”
Addressing a pressing conference there, Mr Upendra charged that Mr Rama Rao had been acting only on the advice of his two sons-in laws. “It has been the policy of Mr N-T. Rama Rao to eliminate potential rivals of his son-in-law,” Mr Upendra say in a statement.
About the immediate provocation for the action against him, the Rajya Sabha member mentioned his recent encounter with the two sons-in-law during which “I gave them a piece of my mind.”
Mr Upendra said that it was ironic that Mr Vijay Kumar Raju who had been chosen to replace him as the Telugu Desam parliamentary party leader, got disillusioned with the “whimsical attitude of NTR and revolted.
“Though he baulked at openly supporting the break-away TD group, Mr Upendra made no bones about his sympathy for them. “They are peoples represent Lives, they in the state before they acted,” he said
Meanwhile, the Telugu Desam leader, Mr N.T. Rama Rao, on Sunday accused the Prime Minister Mr P.V. Narasimha Rao, of “betraying the Telugu people.”
Addressing a press conference here Mr Rama Rao alleged that by encouraging the defection in the TDP, the Prime Minister had wounded the feelings of the people of Andhra Pradesh.”
The TDP strongman flew in here on a day’s visit to consult the opposition leaders about the crisis that had gripped his party following the split wing.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 27, 1992
