How can NTR's family support Naidu?: Duggabati

Hyderabad, June 6 (UNI) Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Founder N T Rama Rao's elder son-in-law and Congress MLA Daggubati Venkateswara Rao today dismissed the leader's grandson and Actor Junior NTR's claim that the entire family of his grandfather was with TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu.

Dr Venkateswara Rao, husband of Ms Purandareswari, the elder daughter of NTR and Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development, today played the 'last audio cassette recorded by NTR' after he was dethroned by Mr Naidu and asked how his family members could support him (Mr Naidu).

In the cassette, NTR called Mr Naidu a traitor and back-stabber.

He also said Mr Naidu proved the proverb ''Jamata Dasama Grahaha'' meaning ''a son-in-law is the tenth planet.'' NTR also explained how Mr Chandrababu Naidu ''usurped'' his position, betrayed and caused agony to him. He described Mr Naidu as a knife laced with honey.

Dr Venkateswara Rao who was the leader of the TDP Parliamentary Party when NTR was alive, said ''these people are talking about the prestige and honour of the family'' and asked if this was how they were protected.

Mr N Hari Krishna (NTR's son and Junior NTR's father) who became a minister in Mr Naidu's cabinet after the party split and Mr Naidu became the chief minister, was however estranged and started his own party the ''Anna Telugu Desam.'' When his party could not win a single seat including his own in the elections, he kept away from politics and from Mr Naidu for almost nine years. Recently, he rejoined the TDP and extended support to Mr Naidu.

Referring to an article by a columnist that NTR's fans were hurt when he looked to the Congress for support when Mr Naidu became the chief minister, Dr Rao asked, ''were they not hurt when Rs 1.5 crore of party funds were swallowed by somebody, when Mr Naidu had not installed the portrait of N T Rama Rao in the Parliament though he was in power for nine years and when he could not get the Bharat Ratna for NTR.'' He also said had NTR been alive, he would have become the Prime Minister and not Mr H D Deve Gowda and asked, ''who is responsible for this?'' UNI