Upset over TDP-Congress tie-up, NTR’s wife wants husband’s ‘rebirth’

Hyderabad, Nov 4: Upset over Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu's move to ally Telugu Desam Party with the Congress, the widow of party founder N T Rama Rao has asked the late leader to take "reincarnation" to restore the self-respect of Telugu people.

In a unique protest, NT Rama Rao's widow Lakshmi Parvathi placed a four-page letter at the NTR's 'samadhi' in Hyderabad beseeching him to come back.

In the letter, Lakshmi Parvathi regretted that the TDP founded by NTR with the lofty ideal of upholding the self-respect of Telugu people was surrendered to the same Congress which he had strongly opposed till his last breath.

"I still remember your words explaining the reasons which compelled you to give up your 35 years of career in films and take up the responsibility of rescuing Andhra Pradesh from the clutches of corrupt Congress," she said.

Chandrababu Naidu had met Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Delhi on Thursday. They agreed to bury the past and work together to defeat the Modi government in the 2019 elections.

Parvathi was second wife of NTR. He married her in 1993, a few months before he returned to power with a landslide victory. However, NTR's son-in-law Chandrababu Naidu led a revolt and became chief minister in August 1995, citing Parvathi's growing interference in administration and party affairs.

NTR died in January 1996 and since then Parvathi has been living in political oblivion.