Kiran, Babu are an item: Botcha

HYDERABAD: Munching on a bonda in the Assembly canteen Wednesday, PCC president Botcha Satyanarayana supplied to reporters the information that chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy and TDP boss Chandrababu Naidu are now an item. The PCC chief suggested that the CM and the leader of the opposition are working hand in glove to embarrass their common foes.“What else is the meaning of Kiran Kumar Reddy saying that the eight information commissioners posts were filled unanimously? That is only one instance (of their teaming up),” Satyanarayana told reporters informally in the Assembly lobbies, where TV cameras are not allowed. He added that it was only after the appointments became controversial that Naidu sent a dissent note.Taken aback by this casual aside by Botcha, reporters asked how he would substantiate his observation. The PCC president said the “match-fixing between Kiran Kumar and Chandrababu was a known fact. Asked if this was on record, he said he was making all these comments on record and that reporters were free to quote him.But a little later, by which time the quotes began to be scrolled on TV channels, the PCC president went over to the CLP office in the Assembly complex, where he faced TV cameras and stoutly denied making any suggestion that there was a tacit understanding between the two leaders. “What I said was that the Opposition leader has cooperated with Kiran Kumar Reddy and there was nothing wrong in doing so,” he said. He said a wrong impression was created because he had used one word for another.After the press conference, Botcha laughed away questions from mediapersons whether his intent had been to air the allegation and then deny it.The PCC chief’s comments triggered a political soundbite fest, with the YSR Congress Party saying it had always been suggesting that Kiran Kumar Reddy and Chandrababu Naidu are operating hand in glove and now the PCC chief himself has corroborated it.Satyanarayana has been trying to give an impression that he alone is capable of taking on Naidu and thus overshadow Kiran Kumar Reddy. He slammed Naidu on the inaugural day of the budget session and again Wednesday, questioning why the TDP leader was raking up the liquor issue repeatedly when there were several other issues like remunerative prices for farmers, scholarship fee payments to students and release of sub-plan funds for SCs and STs.