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Goud, Peddi Reddy rejoin Telugu Desam

Hyderabad, 07 August 2009: Amidst fanfare and slogan-shouting by supporters, former ministers T. Devender Goud and E. Peddi Reddy returned to their parent party, Telugu Desam (TDP), on Thursday, after seeking forgiveness from its president, N. Chandrababu Naidu, for deserting the organisation 13 months ago.

Welcoming them “wholeheartedly” into the party, Mr. Naidu gave a call to all those who believe in TDP’s principles to come back and make the party invincible. The senior TDP leader, Talasani Srinivas Yadav, who threatened to quit if Mr. Goud was allowed to rejoin the party, was present and welcomed the latter’s re-entry. Mr. Peddi Reddy said that they acted on the spur of the moment without applying their minds by quitting the party. Stating that he was happy to return to the TDP which launched his political career, he assured to work as an ordinary worker to recapture the past glory of the TDP and bring it back to power in 2014.

Mr. Goud referred to Mr. Naidu as his mentor and said that he was overwhelmed with a feeling similar to that of a person reuniting with family after remaining separate for some time. He lauded Mr. Naidu for steering the party successfully during the troubled times and lambasted Congress for “trying to eliminate other parties and posing a threat to democracy.” Accusing Congress of trying to weaken the TDP by luring its leaders, he said Congress would have tasted defeat in 2009 elections had everyone remained with the party.