Known for his unique style of hitting headlines, Handloom and Textiles Minister Dr. P Shankar Rao on Tuesday surprised everyone by visiting the office of the Telugu Desam Legislature Party in the Assembly.
Even the TDP MLAs there were surprised to see the unexpected, and uninvited, guest in their office.
However, some MLAs, including Telangana Forum convenor Errabelli Dayakar Rao, M Narasimhulu and Seethakka, received the Minister with a smile.
Besides discussing general politics, the MLAs served him cold water, Bhelpuri chat and hot Irani chai.
After spending over 30 minutes at the TDLP office, the Minister made another surprising statement in the presence of media persons waiting there.
He demanded that TDP founder Nandamuri Tarakarama Rao be honoured with the Bharat Ratna for his services to cinema and society. He claimed that he was first person to sign a petition demanding the Bharat Ratna for NTR.
"We would have never imagined what Lord Rama or Lord Krishna looked like. But it was NTR who, through his mythological films, gave these characters a new image. Further, it was NTR who came up with an innovative scheme like Rs. 2 per kilo rice, which helped lakhs of poor families," Shankar Rao said.
The Minister clarified that his visit to the TDLP office was just an "informal visit".
Praising CBI Joint Director V V Laxminarayana, who is leading the CBI investigation into several important cases including the OMC case and Kadapa MP Jaganmohan Reddy's disproportionate assets case, the Minister said that the CBI is facing a shortage of staff in carrying out in-depth investigations.
He demanded that the CBI teams be provided adequate staff and resources to complete the investigations. He also announced that he would recommend Laxminarayana's name for the President's Medal.
Shankar Rao also claimed that only the Congress can form a Telangana state. (INN)