The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Babu Khan quits TDP

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 17, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Babu Khan quits TDP

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, JULY 16. Bashiruddin Babu Khan, a former Cabinet Minister in N.T. Rama Rao and N. Chandrababu Naidu's Governments, today resigned from the membership of the Telugu Desam Party. He however refused to spell out his future political plans.

Mr. Babu Khan told reporters he was forced to take this "final step" as the TDP had not learnt any lesson from its defeat in the recent elections and continued its alliance with the `communal BJP.

He said that he had resigned from the Cabinet in 1998 in protest against the TDP's alliance with the BJP. Despite the "pogrom of the minorities" in Gujarat two years ago, the TDP did not break its ties with the BJP. He had hoped that with the reversals suffered in the recent elections, the TDP leadership would reconsider the wisdom of its alliance with the BJP, but his hopes were belied. He explained his decision was not based on personal issues and he continued to hold late N.T. Rama Rao and N. Chandrababu Naidu in high esteem.

Addressing repeated queries regarding the possibility of his joining the Congress or the MIM, he said that he had not given any thought to joining any other political formation.

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