Botsa takes a dig at Chiranjeevi

PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana is a man with many masks. He had played a key role in the merger of the Praja Rajyam Party into the Congress and turned Chiranjeevi into a faceless puppet whose strings Botsa held in his hands. Botsa, it is said, had also promised Chiranjeevi that he would get him a Cabinet slot at the Centre.

But the PCC Chief's latest remarks on Chiranjeevi made in an oblique fashion, have come as a surprise to many. He said that some people had claimed that their party would shake the very foundations of the Congress in the state, but later settled for a merger  with the Congress Party.

Talking on the subject of change of leadership in the state, he said he  would neither confirm nor contradict what was being said. He was nominated as the PCC Chief and Kiran Kumar Reddy as the Chief Minister, by the Congress President, Sonia Gandhi, Botsa added.

 Chandrababu Naidu was indecisive and completely lacking in clarity, according to Botsa, who said that had the TDP chief sent a letter spelling out his stand on Telangana earlier, the problem would have got resolved a long time ago.

He remarked that the TDP had no future and would be relegated to the third position in the 2014 general elections.

This is probably the first time that Botsa is seen criticizing Chiranjeevi openly and his remarks on the actor turned politician seem to suggest that he feels threatened by him insofar as his own position is concerned, especially since Chiranjeevi's name has been doing the rounds as the next PCC Chief. Incidentally, Chiranjeevi had met Sonia Gandhi recently. Much to the discomfiture of Congressmen, Chiranjeevi observed at a meeting organized by Rajya Sabha Member V. Hanumantha Rao recently  that there was no coordination in the party. 

As things stand, the Botsa-Chiranjeevi friendship is beginning to show signs of fraying at the edges.

-siva@sakshipost