Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday termed the merger of Praja Rajyam Party with the Congress as 'unfortunate'.
Talking to media persons on the sidelines of a party meeting, the senior BJP leader described the Congress as a sinking ship in the state, and wondered why PPR President K Chiranjeevi acted in haste and merged his party with the Congress.
Naidu said that the PRP leader who formed the party on the plank of achieving social justice had cheated the voters by merging the party with the Congress.
The senior BJP leader also criticized Union Telecommunications Minister Kapil Sibal for shielding those who were involved in the 2G spectrum scam. He asked Sibal to act responsibly and ensure a CBI probe into the entire issue impartially.
Reacting on the move to bring Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam temples under the Archeological Survey of India, he said that the decision was not good for the interests of devotees and urged the government to withdraw its decision.
Senior BJP leader Bandaru Dattatreya on Sunday also expressed his dismay over the merging of Praja Rajyam Party with the Congress. He alleged that the leaders in Congress were involved in scams worth thousands of crores of rupees.
Dattatreya asked how Chiranjeevi, who established the PRP party saying that he would fight for social justice, could fight for fulfilling Ambedkar's principles by allying with the corrupt Congress.
He said that the poor and the backward classes in the state would definitely question the actor-turned-politician for belying their aspirations. Dattatreya stated that the people would give a fitting reply to Chiranjeevi at the time of elections for his opportunistic politics.
The senior leader also alleged that the Congress lured Chiranjeevi by illegal means to prevent a constitutional crisis in the state.