Former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and president of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) N Chandrababu Naidu raked up a controversy in Telangana with his comments that it was TDP rule that introduced rice to Telangana people.

Naidu made these comments on Sunday (26 February) while launching ‘Intintiki TDP’ (TDP to every house) programme at the NTR Bhavan in Hyderabad.

“People of Telangana used to eat jonnalu (Sorghum), raghulu (finger millets) and sajjalu (pearl millets) before the TDP came to power. They started eating rice only after former chief minister NT Rama Rao rolled out the Rs 2-a-kg rice scheme,” Naidu said, reports The New Indian Express.

Naidu plans to revive TDP in Telangana politics. He already conducted a massive public meet in Khammam which drew a good response from the public.

In the 2018 assembly elections, TDP formed an alliance with Congress and contested just 13 out of 119 seats. TDP won 2 seats and secured 3.5 per cent vote share (7.25 lakh votes).

This time in the upcoming 2023 polls, political analysts expect that TDP may contest polls alone or in alliance with BJP.

But Naidu’s recent comments can be weaponized by the ruling BRS by portraying TDP chief as an example for ‘superiority complex’ of Andhra leaders, an argument used in Telangana statehood movement before 2014 and during 2018 polls.

Already, Telangana’s Minister for Agriculture Niranjan Reddy has strongly reacted to Naidu’s comments.

Niranjan Reddy said that Chandrababu Naiduu has no knowledge about the history of Telangana and explained that Hyderabad was known for its ‘dum biryani’ from the 15 th century itself.

He said that paddy was cultivated in Telangana region from the days of Vishnu Kundinis to Kakatiyas to Nizams by the construction of chain-link tank system for irrigation.

Telangana Today, a publication owned by CM KCR, reported that Naidu’s comments have belittled Telangana people showing TDP chief’s ‘utter arrogance and ignorance.’