Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu claimed on Thursday that he was the one to put Hyderabad on the world map by getting the city international status. The task took him 9 years, whereas it took the British a century to build Secunderabad (lashkar).
Above all, it was former Chief Minister Nandamuri Taraka Ramarao who had brought real independence to Telangana by raising their self-respect. However, the State government was not helping the cause to rename Shamshabad airport after NTR, he bemoaned.
Chandrababu further claimed that it was he who had got approval for the Metro rail in Hyderabad. He questioned why Mero rail was not yet a reality, while the work was going on for ages.
It was NTR who gave self-respect for the Telugus by introducing revolutionary programmes such as pucca houses for the poor, Rs.2 a kilo rice and many other schemes.
Who are these leaders criticising me, Chandrababu wondered. He noted that there was a natural affinity between the Telugu Desam Party and Telangana. He said nobody would be able to cut the deep link between the TDP and Telangana.
Chandrababu opened his party's campaign at Patancheru in Hyderabad, even as the TDP is showing its massive presence in the city.
