Andhra, Telangana CMs in war of words over audio tape

Hyderabad/Guntur, June 8 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and his Telangana counterpart K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Monday indulged in a bitter war of words over an audio tape related to the cash-for-vote scam. Within minutes after Naidu claimed that he has equal rights on common capital Hyderabad, Rao hit back at him with the remark "Hyderabad is not your father's property". "You are not chief minister of Hyderabad. Telangana bidda (son of Telangana) is the chief minister," Rao said addressing a public meeting at Nalgonda on Monday night. The Telangana chief minister repeatedly called Naidu a "thief" and said he stood exposed before the world with the audio tape of his telephonic conversation with nominated legislator Elvis Stephenson. While Naidu threatened to expose Rao, the latter said he was not afraid of the allegations and asked the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president to mind his tongue. KCR, as the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief is popularly known, said even god will not save Naidu. Alleging that Naidu was caught red-handed, he ridiculed the Andhra chief minister's claim that he was being implicated in a false case. The TRS chief said the government cannot keep quiet when somebody from another state tries to buy over legislators of the ruling party. He said Naidu's conspiracies will not be allowed on the soil of Telangana. On Naidu's remark that he also has police in Hyderabad, KCR said it was Telangana police which has jurisdiction over Hyderabad. "You (Naidu) said you have also have ACB (Anti-Corruption Bureau) in Hyderabad but I am not indulging in corrupt practices like you," the TRS chief said. Earlier, addressing a public meeting at Mangalgiri in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh to mark the first year of the TDP government, Naidu reacted sharply to the alleged tapping of his phone by the TRS government and said he has equal rights on Hyderabad, which is a common capital for 10 years.