HYDERABAD: Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development D. Purandareswari has asked Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu to stop `misusing' TDP founder N.T. Rama Rao's name and popularity for his personal and political gains.

In a six-page letter addressed to Mr. Naidu, Ms. Purandareswari said Mr. Rama Rao "loathed" him and refused to associate his name with Mr. Naidu. The celebrations organised by Mr. Naidu to mark the silver jubilee of the Telugu Desam was "wrongful misappropriation" of somebody else's dedication, popularity and labour.

Stating that Mr. Rama Rao launched the TDP during "one of the worst period when the sense of self-respect and individuality of average Telugu citizen was at stake," she recalled as to how Mr. Naidu refused to join it on the ground that "not every man who paints his face can become a leader." Mr. Naidu who subsequently joined the TDP resorted to "nefarious tactics and political manipulation" that culminated in the ouster of Mr. Rama Rao from the Chief Ministership.

Though he fought for the party symbol "the cycle" initially, the former leader, however, never extended his desire to its logical conclusion and demanded for formal bifurcation of the TDP.

`Pseudo loyalty'

Ridiculing the TDP president for his "pseudo loyalty" towards Mr. Rama Rao, she recalled that Mr. Naidu did not make any commitment on behalf of the State when the Statue Committee of Parliament decided to request the then TDP Government to donate a statue of N.T. Rama Rao for installation in Parliament House. Without naming NTR's son N. Harikrishna who joined the TDP, Ms. Purandareswari, in her letter, hoped that her brother would also refurbish his memory on these incidents.

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