Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and the convenor of the UNPA, Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday raised the slogan of ?Andhra Pride? against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for allegedly refusing to meet him over the issue of minimum support price to paddy.
A dejected Naidu met agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and asked him to announce a better deal for the paddy farmers. Naidu also said he would use ?people?s power? to open the eyes of the Prime Minister.
?It?s the democratic right of a political party to meet the Prime Minister. Am I so weak that I should get an appointment through recommendations? We have our own Telugu pride and the Indian government should realise it. We are going to open their eyes,? Naidu told a press conference. Naidu was in the Capital for the last few days to recapture his image as a leader of the ?third front.? After his meeting with the CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat on the nuclear deal, Naidu met CPI general secretary AB Bardhan and briefed him about the UNPA?s decision on the issue.
The UNPA constituents, echoing the Left parties, had reiterated on Tuesday that the Centre should take the consent of the Parliament before operationalising the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement. They had also decided to work out a joint floor strategy with the Left. Sources in the TDP told FE that Naidu also raised the issue of nuclear deal with Sharad Pawar during their meeting. The NCP and the RJD had reportedly demanded the Congress in the last two UPA-Left meetings that the operationalisation of the deal can wait, as they are not ready for a mid-term poll.