Shankar Rao demands Bharat Ratna for NTR

Known for his unique style of hitting headlines, Handloom and Textiles Minister Dr P Shankar Rao on Tuesday surprised everyone by visiting the office of Telugu Desam Legislature Party in the Assembly.

Even the TDP MLAs were surprised to see an unexpected and uninvited guest in their office. However, MLAs including Telangana Forum convenor Errabelli Dayakar Rao, M Narasimhulu, Seethakka and others received the Minister with a smile. Besides discussing general politics, the MLAs served him cold water, Bhelpuri chat and hot Irani chai.

After spending over 30 minutes at the Tdlp Office, the Minister made another surprising statement before the waiting media persons. He demanded that TDP founder Nandamuri Tarakarama Rao be honoured with Bharat Ratna award for his services to cinema and society. He claimed that he was first person to sign the petition demanding Bharat Ratna for NTR.

"We would have never imagined how Lord Rama or Lord Krishna looked like. But it was NTR who through his mythological films gave a new image to these characters. Further, it was NTR who came out with an innovative scheme like Rs 2 per kilo rice which helped lakhs of poor families," Dr Shankar Rao said. He demanded that NTR be given Bharat Ratna.

The Minister clarified that his visit to the Tdlp Office was just an informal visit and he discussed routine things with his ex-colleagues in the college.

Praising the CBI Joint Director VV Laxminarayana, who is leading the investigation into several important cases including OMC case and Kadapa MP Jagan Mohan Reddy's disproportionate assets case, the Minister demanded that the CBI was facing shortage of staff in carrying out in-depth investigation. He demanded that the CBI teams must be provided adequate staff and resources to complete the investigations. He also announced that he would recommend Laxminarayana's name for President's Medal.

Dr Shankar Rao claimed that only Congress party could give Telangana State. However, he appreciated everyone who is supporting the agitation in their own ways and means.