Telangana agriculture minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy revealed an astonishing incident that took place when Chandrababu Naidu was chief minister of united Andhra Pradesh,12 year ago.
Responding to the debate on the Nizam Sugars, Reddy narrated how he opposed the privatization of Nizam Sugars proposed by the then chief minister Chandrababu Naidu. ” For stoutly opposing the privatization move, Naidu slapped on my thigh with force to stop me talking against the move. Even though I wore the Dhoti, my thigh ached with blotchy welt resulted from the slap. I didn’t reveal this to anyone till this day. I was sitting by his side in the meeting on Nizam Sugars. After some time, Naidu sent a message though his staff asking to meet him. When I met him, he apologized for delivering the slap on the spur of the moment,” Pocharam said in the Telangana Assembly.
“I earnestly pleaded with the then chief minister Naidu with folded hands not to privatize the plant. I tried to prevail upon him by stating that the plant was mother plant, it gave birth to another ten plants in the region. He did not pay heed to my words and shook with rage and lashed out at me. When he asked me to take light of the slap which he said was delivered in a fit of rage, I told him that, ” Sir, it was not a slap on the thigh, but you hit, here … my heart,” Pocharam narrated the whole scene with visible distress on his face.
Interrupting Pocharam , Congress member T Jeevan Reddy asked, ” why did you continue in Naidu’s cabinet ever after Naidu slapped you.”
Pocharam with a commendable presence of mind, gave a retort by asking, ” How did you, Jeevan Reddy, continue in chief minister Kirankumar Reddy’s cabinet, even after Kiran’s public utterance on the floor of the House that he would not release a single pie to Telangana.”‘
Disclosing the government mind on the Nizam Sugars, the minister said the government studying if the factory could be run in public sector. The government was committed to reopen the plant and soon he would reveal the action plan.
