Amaravati, June 3 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has come to the defence of Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, who is facing a backlash in Telangana over certain comments he made after being denied permission to hold a public meeting in Hyderabad.

Chandrababu Naidu found fault with the denial of permission to the Jana Sena leader for the public meeting in Telangana. He said that in a democracy, anybody can hold a meeting anywhere.

Speaking to media persons on Wednesday, the Chief Minister reacted to criticism levelled against Pawan Kalyan by leaders of political parties in Telangana.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national president stated that the comments made against Pawan Kalyan in Telangana do not reflect a sound approach. He said one should not create unnecessary problems by making such remarks.

“It has been 12 years since the bifurcation took place; we have separated into two distinct states. Certain leaders in Telangana cannot simply speak up now and incite animosity. The public is well aware of who has done what for which region. Some leaders in Telangana are raising irrelevant issues,” he said.

The TDP chief stated that a leader can hold a public meeting anywhere. He said he campaigned in Tamil Nadu during the recent elections there.

“Leaders from all regions, including those from Karnataka and national-level figures, visited Tamil Nadu to campaign. D.K. Shivakumar from Karnataka was also among them,” he said.

CM Naidu asserted that in Telangana, both the Congress party and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) are active.

“The BRS declared itself a national party and even established a presence in Andhra Pradesh, stating that it intended to expand its operations. Given this, I simply cannot understand why they are speaking in this manner now. This is not appropriate,” he said.

The Chief Minister stated that Telugu people currently hold constitutional positions in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.

“Our people are assuming public offices in countries across the globe, and they perform their duties in accordance with the respective constitutions of those nations. Ultimately, those who provide the best service to the public emerge as leaders in their respective regions,” he said.

“The competition should be in the realms of development and public service. The competition should not be in creating division among people. The focus should be on delivering better services to the people.”

–IANS

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