Chiru ready if CM is willing

Picking up the gauntlet thrown by the Congress, the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) on monday agreed for a debate, as sought by the ruling party if Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy was prepared, on the development of the State.

The issue came up during the press conference addressed by PRP founder Chiranjeevi at the party office when scribes asked him to react to the challenge made by Information Minister A Ramanarayana Reddy.

Initially, Chiranjeevi turned down the challenge saying that he was busy with his tour and cannot engage himself in the debates. But after a while, senior PRP leader K S R Murthy came out to announce that the party was ready for the debate. "Chiranjeevi is ready if the Chief Minister is willing but he (KSR Murthy) will answer any minister," Murthy said.

On the remarks made by film star Rajasekhar that he would not become Chief Minister, Chiranjeevi said that every person was free to express his/her views in a democratic country."Rajasekhar may be right in his own view," Chiranjeevi quipped.

He said that no politician was stopped from joining PRP and the party would use their experiences if they were prepared. However, only time will tell which positions the leaders will be given in the party, he said.

"I am studying Telangana and the SC categorisation issues and will react at an appropriate time," he clarified while referring to the remarks that the party was vacillating on such crucial issues.

He also made it clear that his tour will not begin on September 26 as speculated by a section of media and requested the media not to go by his preference for the digit 8. Whatever he did in the past like announcing his decision to join politics, addressing first meeting of the party and also hoisting the party flag was a mere coincidence.

Meanwhile, prominent Communist leader M Swarajyam’s daughter P Karuna, TD former State secretary P Brahmananda Reddy and Krishna district leader Y Ravi joined the PRP in the presence of Chiranjeevi.