Don’t drag me into petty politics: Vijaya Shanthi

Medak, Nov 12: Tollywood heroine of yesteryear and Medak MP, Ms Vijaya Shanthi, feels that she is being unnecessarily dragged into petty politics by the leaders of her own party -- the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) -- and the rival parties like the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) and others besides the media.“Let me perform my duty as the Member of Parliament and work for the development of my constituency. Do not drag me into any controversies for petty political gains,” she told media persons here on Thursday in an oblique reference to the TRS leaders’ recent remarks against her.

Ms Vijaya Shanthi, who won the Medak MP seat on TRS ticket in the general elections, later fell out with the party president, Mr K Chandrasekhar Rao, and she was even tipped to join the ruling Congress after her confrontation with her party boss. This was before September when Dr Rajasekhara Reddy, the former chief minister, was alive.However, things went topsy-turvy after the former chief minister’s sudden demise on September 2 in a copter crash. As she has already come out openly against her party president, Mr Chandrasekhar Rao, she is being considered as an outcast by her own party. And, Dr Rajasekhara Reddy, who offered her a comfortable position in the Congress if she had shifted loyalties, is no more. She is thus neither here nor there.Against this backdrop, Ms Vijaya Shanthi began touring her constituency in order to gain some foothold of her own in the event of the TRS showing her the door.

As part of the programme, the MP is in Medak district on Thursday.When media persons confronted her with queries at Jinnaram mandal headquarters in the district and mentioned about the party senior leaders wreathing with anger against her reported decision to switch loyalties to the Congress, she asked the TRS leaders and the Press not to drag her into petty politics. “I am a committed and dedicated worker of the people. Let me complete my task of developing my constituency,” she observed.She conducted surprise checks at Madaram in Jinnaram mandal and made enquiries from the locals on the problems that they are facing. She promised that she would sanction some funds from her Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to take up some welfare programmes and would also take up with the State Government the issues like providing safe drinking water to the people in her constituency.Only a handful of TRS workers are seen accompanying Ms Vijaya Shanthi during her three-hour-long visit to the mandal and no senior party functionary was present among them.