Former Rajya Sabha MP Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy formally joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) along with his wife Vemireddy Prashanti in the presence of party chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu here on Saturday.
At a huge public meeting organised by the party to welcome the industrialist-turned-social worker into the party fold, Mr. Naidu lashed out at Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and the ruling YSRCP for hurting the ‘self-respect’ of the Vemireddy couple, known for their social and charitable activities for decades, and forcing them to leave the party.
“The TDP will treat you with due respect and accord you the status you deserve,” Mr. Naidu assured the couple, after adorning them with the party shawl as a mark of their induction into the party. He also recalled how former Nellore Rural MLA Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy, Udayagiri MLA Mekapati Chandrasekhar Reddy and Venkatagiri MLA Anam Ramanarayana Reddy faced similar humiliation by the YSRCP.
