AP: Minister Danam takes a personal swipe at Sabita Reddy

The day after the police registered cases against him for throwing his weight about at ISKCON’s Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at Banjara Hills here, Danam Nagender complained that he hadn’t got even a sympathy call from home minister Sabita Indra Reddy.

He said glitterati such as PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana, deputy chief minister Damodar Rajanarasimha and health minister D L Ravindra Reddy called him up to commisserate with him, but the home minister had not found the time.

“Oh, it’s 10 a.m. Maybe she hasn’t woken up yet? Maybe she was busy with some other work? Is this the respect she gives to her cabinet colleagues?” Danam told TV cameras Friday.

The labour minister and his henchmen kicked up a shindig at the ISKCON temple Thursday, accusing the temple officials of a range of misdeeds such as ‘anti-social activities and covering up a rape attempt on the premises.

He abused and shoved aside a sub-inspector and locked up the main gate of the temple. The police slapped six cases against him.

Danam said he expected a call from the home minister to enquire after his health and find out about the cases registered against him by her staff.  He also said he was being given this treatment because he belonged to a backward class.

Danam said his intervention on Thursday had been to minister to local people’s problems, and he was prepared to resign in his pursuit of the public interest.  “Why should I remain a minister if I can’t take care of the people’s issues?” he asked.

Friday being Janmashtami, Nagender busy all morning trying to appease Lord Krishna after his exertions against the ISKCON temple the previous day.

He rushed to the temple early, garlanded an idol of Lord Krishna there and performed puja.

Later, speaking to reporters, he let go at his cabinet colleague and even dragged the chief minister into the episode, complaining that ‘someone’ seemed to be filling Kiran Kumar Reddy’s ears against him.

Danam’s play of the backward class card won him the support of some leaders such as V Hanumanth Rao, who called on the minister and endorsed his peeve.

Curiously, in her public reaction, Sabita didn’t seem to have taken offence at Danam’s swipe at her, and instead spoke in terms of endearment : “Danam Nagender is like my brother and a member of my family.”

She said she would ask the Hyderabad police commissioner about the cases registered against Nagender, but was certain that they were not motivated by malice.