The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Mahanadu: TDP reaffirms commitment to secularism

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Mahanadu: TDP reaffirms commitment to secularism

Special Correspondent

Dares State Government to hold direct polls to civic bodies

HYDERABAD: The three-day annual Mahanadu of the Telugu Desam concluded here on Monday with the party daring the Congress Government to hold direct elections to municipalities and reaffirming its commitment to secularism.

Moments after he was elected unopposed as TDP president for a sixth term, N. Chandrababu Naidu said the ruling party was planning to hold indirect elections as it was afraid of defeat. He called upon the cadre to ensure that the TDP came out with flying colours in the municipal and the panchayat elections.

Ready to go it alone

Declaring that the TDP was not at the mercy of any other party as being made out in some quarters, Mr. Naidu said it was on its own and played a key role in national and State politics for the past two decades. If any other party was interested, the TDP was willing to work together on people's problems.

Otherwise, it would fight on its own and emerge victorious, he added.

Asserting that there was no question of the party compromising on its commitment to secularism, he said it was its fundamental principle.

Earlier, moving the political resolution, the parliamentary party leader, K. Yerran Naidu, said the Congress had no moral right to talk about secularism and accused it of engineering communal riots in the past. Even while extending issue-based support to the NDA Government, the TDP had protested and boycotted the Education Ministers' conference, brought pressure on the Centre to force the Gujarat Government to withdraw orders permitting officials to participate in RSS meetings and also demanded the resignation of Narender Modi in the wake of the Godhra incidents.

Claiming that the UPA Government at the Centre had failed on all fronts, he accused it lowering the dignity of the Prime Minister's office and dismissing State Governments. Criticising it for appointing active politicians as Governors, he said people were aware of its "evil intentions."

Lashing out at the State Government, Mr. Naidu alleged that there was an undeclared emergency in the State with political parties not having freedom.

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