A key player in Narendra Modi government, Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu, opened his heart and shared a lot of issues at a felicitation function in Vijayawada on Thursday.

The Union Minister of Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty and Parliamentary Affairs, heaped a lavish praise on Vijaywada, which according to him was the nerve centre of politics, arts, newspapers, films and commerce before Hyderabad was transformed into a hi-tech city ‘by people like Chandrababu Naidu.’

“I have a close affinity with the city of Vijayawada. I grew up here and I spent a lot of time in this city during the Jai Andhra movement. I got arrested in Vijayawada during both the Jai Andhra movement and emergency,” Venkaiah, who started his journey from Nellore and went on to become the BJP national president from 2002-2004, maintained.

Listing out prominent personalities of the region, he said: “Aa mahaanubhaavudu (the great personality) Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao also belong to this place.”

Caste, religion, region, language and water, according to the tall BJP leader, are the five most dangerous things that can spoil the minds of people and make the go crazy.

Venkaiah criticized the caste politics without making any reference to the most troublesome political issue that is nagging Andhra Pradesh government, i.e. Kapu Nadu movement being intensified by Mudragada Padmanabham.

“Politicians use caste for their political purposes and forget about it later. It is foolish to think that politicians benefit the people belong to their caste. If that is the case, there would have been uplift of all Brahmins after PV Narasimha Rao became the Prime Minister of India,” he add.

Making a dig at political chameleons, Venkaiah revealed that he never even thought of leaving his party. “I took a decision when I was a student leader and will stick on to it. I’ll be in this party till I breath my last,” he said called upon people to take up ‘constructive politics’ for the benefit of people.

Venkaiah announced that he doesn’t encourage dynastic politics like many other politicians. “Naadi kaagaane pillakaayalanu yekkinchaalani ledu (I don’t want to promote my children to carry my legacy). I don’t have any agendas.”

The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K.Chandrababu Naidu, whose son N.Lokesh is taking a shape of a perfect heir apparent, felicitated Venkaiah, who has been elected to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan after having represented Karnataka three times in a row.