Jr NTR donates to CM fund

Hyderabad
Oct. 6: Actor and Telugu Desam’s star campaigner Junior NTR donated Rs 20 lakh to the Chief Minister’s fund for flood relief, creating ripples in political circles.
By donating funds to the Chief Minister’s fund, Junior NTR has ignored the call made by his uncle, the TD chief, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, to donate generously to the NTR Trust.
The actor also drove to the Secretariat with the Congress Rajya Sabha MP, Dr K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao, a close friend of the former Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy. He has caused acute embarrassment to the TD as Mr Naidu criticises Mr Rao as an extra constitutional authority.
The TD MLA, Mr Kodali Nani, was also with Junior NTR when he met the Chief Minister.
“My grandfather used to generously donate to flood victims and I have been following in his footsteps,” said Junior NTR. “I wanted to visit the flood hit areas but stayed back as it would distract relief operations.”
Asked why he did not respond to his uncle’s call, the hero said he would also contribute to the NTR Trust.
Dr Rao dismissed any political overtones to the event. When reporters wondered whether he was continuing Operation Akarsh, a code name given to YSR’s attempt to woo Opposition members, he said it was not fair to politicise flood relief.
But sources said Chief Whip Mr Mallu Bhatti, a staunch loyalist of YSR, orchestrated the combined show of Junior NTR and Mr Rao.
It was the TD MLA who contacted Chief Whip and conveyed the hero’s decision to donate to CMRF and the former suggested the idea of giving the cheque in the presence of Dr Rao.
However, not all YSR loyalists were pleased by this. “KVP should not have travelled in Junior NTR’s car,” said a minister. ”It only created news for a while and will not give much mileage to us.” The TD leaders said that Junior NTR wanted to beat Chiranjeevi’s son, Mr Ramcharan Teja, who donated Rs 10 lakh.