Vangaveeti Radha joins Chiranjeevi Praja Rajyam Party

The Congress MLA of Vijayawada (East) Vangaveeti Radhakrishna on Sunday resigned from the party and joined the Praja Rajyam in the presence of its president Chiranjeevi.

Mr. Radhakrishna trained his guns on another Congress MLA from Krishna district Devineni Rajasekhar while announcing his decision to join the Praja Rajyam at its office here.

He told mediapersons that the Congress leadership is biased towards a few individuals to whom it grants benefits. Mr. Rajasekhar is also among them, he alleged.

Incidentally, the bitter rivalry between Mr. Radhakrishna and Mr. Rajasekhar spilled over on the floor of Assembly earlier this year.

A land dispute between them triggered an angry outburst from Mr. Radhakrishna in the House.

Youngest legislator

Son of former Congress MLA Vangaveeti Mohana Ranga who was hacked to death by his political rivals in Vijayawada in 1988, Mr. Radhakrishna was the youngest legislator to be elected to the present term of Assembly in 2004.

He said he endured pain even as the Congress took decisions that went against him. The Congress leadership overlooked him though his father made supreme sacrifice for the party, he said.

Chiranjeevi said the entry of Mr. Radhakrishna into Praja Rajyam reflects the growing popularity of the party after its youth wing – Yuva Rajyam – was activated.

Close relationship

He added that he was closely associated with Mohana Ranga until the latter’s death. Ranga used to watch his film shootings at locations as far as Jammu and Kashmir and often praised his hard work that helped him make a career in films on his own, Chiranjeevi added.

He also said Ranga advised him to enter politics at a stage when he had not even turned his attention to it.

The bond between his and Ranga’s family is once again built with Mr. Radhakrishna joining the party, he said.

Botcha reacts

Meanwhile, Housing Minister Botcha Satyanarayana said Mr. Radhakrishna could have resigned out of insecurity of not getting party ticket to contest the next Assembly elections.

“Merely because a person quits the Congress does not mean that the party’s vote bank will erode. We may lose one vote or gain 1,000 votes because of the departure of some leaders,” the Minister remarked.