Visakhapatnam, March 17 : Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Saturday said that Andhra Pradesh needs a strong voice which can question the Centre to protect the state's interests.

Criticising Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and TDP President N. Chandrababu Naidu, he said they only "want to become rulers and not the voice to question the Centre".

He was addressing a public meeting organised here by the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee to oppose the privatisation of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plan.

Andhra Pradesh Congress chief Y.S. Sharmila and other leaders also addressed the public meeting.

Alleging that the rulers in Andhra Pradesh mortgaged self-respect in Delhi, Revanth Reddy said since they had "no guts to raise their voice, the Centre ignored the state".

He said the Polavaram project could not be completed even after 10 years while the state still has no capital.

"BJP means Babu, Jagan, Pawan. This is the Modi team. Whoever wins will support him. You need a leader who can fight to solve the problems of the region. The people of Andhra Pradesh don't need rulers. They need a strong voice which can question," he said.

The Telangana Chief Minister further claimed that "no leader from Andhra Pradesh questioned the Centre over its move to privatise Visakhapatnam Steel Plant". He recalled that the plant was achieved after 32 people laid down their lives.

Revanth Reddy called for unity among Telugu people to fight for their rights. He said Sharmila Reddy came here as the people of Andhra Pradesh "are in difficulty".

"Sharmila took a bold step by organising the meeting to protect the Steel Plant," he added. The Telangana Chief Minister called her the "true successor" of her father, former Chief Minister late Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy.

He said he was impressed to see the huge response to the public meeting.

Revanth Reddy further appealed to people to at least give five MP and 25 MLA seats to Congress so that the party can raise their voice to protect the state's interests.

He said the Congress leaders in Andhra Pradesh should not feel that when there is a contest between the two, where is the scope for them. He mentioned that the Congress, which had only five MLAs, fought both the BJP and BRS to win 65 seats and come to power.

/IANS