Ganta Srinivasa Rao Faces Backlash for Highlighting Visakhapatnam Travel Woes
A recent tweet by former minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Ganta Srinivasa Rao has become a topic of discussion, drawing serious attention from the party’s high command. His comments, made in reference to the travel difficulties faced by air passengers in Visakhapatnam, were seen as inadvertently handing a political advantage to the YSRCP.
In his tweet, Ganta Srinivasa Rao remarked, “Andhra to Andhra via Telangana,” highlighting the inconvenience of air travel within Andhra Pradesh. He expressed concern over the fact that passengers traveling from Visakhapatnam, the financial capital of Andhra Pradesh, to Amaravati, the administrative capital, were being forced to transit through Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana.
Ganta Srinivasa Rao explained, “I arrived at Visakhapatnam airport at 8 a.m. and had to fly to Hyderabad, then catch another flight to Vijayawada, finally reaching Gannavaram airport at 1 p.m.” He further mentioned that trade representatives from organizations like the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), who were also en route to meet Hon’ble Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, had to take the same roundabout route via Hyderabad due to the cancellation of two morning flights between Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada. Since it was Tuesday and the Vande Bharat train was not operational, passengers had no option but to change two flights to reach Vijayawada, he added.
The tweet stirred reactions within the TDP leadership. The party high command reportedly took serious note of the matter and advised Ganta Srinivasa Rao to bring such issues to the attention of the party rather than airing them publicly. The leadership questioned why he had not reached out directly to Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu, who is also a member of the party, if there were concerns to be addressed. The high command further advised him to ensure that such incidents do not recur in the future.