Congress Calls Naidu Dementia Patient

Government whip in the Legislative Council Rudraraju Padmaraju, on Wednesday, ridiculed Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu's claim that the fee reimbursement scheme was his idea.

Stating that Naidu suffers from dementia, a disease that causes loss of brain function affecting memory, thinking, language, judgment or behavior, Padmaraju said that the fee reimbursement scheme was introduced by the Congress. He said that during Naidu's regime, only 8 lakh students were given fee reimbursement with the Central government's funds. In contrast, about 25 lakh students have benefited from the Congress government's fee reimbursement scheme, on which the state has spent over Rs. 4,000 crore, he said.

Padmaraju said that Naidu has been trying all means to draw public attention in order to come to power in the 2014 elections. He said that it is for the same reason that he has been staking claims on welfare schemes originally started by the Congress.

He said that people have lost faith in Naidu's promises, and that that is why he was not believed when the TDP promised a free cash transfer scheme in the 2009 elections.

Meanwhile, Council whip Y Shivaram Reddy alleged that TDP workers, too, were confused by Naidu's statements. Stating that their political future would be dark if they continue with the TDP, he appealed to the workers to join the Congress. (INN)