Hyderabad

April 9: Mr Parakala Prabhakar, a founder-member of the Praja Rajyam, resigned from the party after calling it a “poisonous tree” that was polluting the political atmosphere, and making a bitter attack on the leadership on Thursday.

The PR is being run as a commercial firm and not as a political party, he alleged. He ann-ounced his resignation at the party headquarters, using the media centre for the purpose. Mr Prabhakar said he was quitting as he had failed to correct the leadership. Mr Prabhakar had aspired for the Narsapu-ram Lok Sabha ticket but was turned down.

Asked whether the allegations over sale of tickets in the PR was true, Mr Prabhakar said, “These allegations appear believable as far as the leadership’s style of functioning is concerned.”

“Earlier I thought that the leadership was making mistakes as it lacks political experience. Later, I came to know that they were following the wrong path intentionally,” he said.
He said the party had “hoodwinked” those to whom it had promised nominations. The Prabhakar press conference was not without its drama.

The party’s top leader, Mr Allu Aravind, had tried to meet Mr Prabhakar at latter’s residence but could not do so. The Yuva Rajyam president Pavan Kalyan, Chiranjeevi’s brother, cancelled his press conference
to rebut Mr Prabhakar’s allegations.

He is reportedly angry over Mr Aravind’s handling of the issues raised by Mr Prabhakar.
The party summoned its women’s wing president, Ms Sobha Rani, to counter Mr Prabhakar’s charges. She said she was unhappy at the way things were going on in the party but was maintaining restraint.

Mr Aravind said Mr Prabhakar quit the party because he was not given the Narasapuram ticket. He said Mr Prabhakar’s allegations were baseless and far from reality. Mr Prabhakar had joined the party only with an eye on the ticket. The Praja Rajyam leadership did not nominate him as surveys showed that he did not have clout among the people, Mr Aravind said.

Denying that tickets were “sold,” Mr Aravind said candidates were selected only after conducting surveys about their standing. “How can I malign the image of Chiranjeevi, whom I adore very much,” he said. “I am ready to give my life for Chiranjeevi. If a bullet is shot at Chiranjeevi, I will be the first person to stand in front of him to take it.”