The Day Telugu Self-Respect Was Betrayed
Since independence, the Congress Party ruled India like an empire, with Andhra Pradesh treated as a vassal state of Delhi. The insult to Telugu pride was visible when Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi publicly humiliated Tanguturi Anjaiah, the sitting Congress Chief Minister from Telugu soil. If a Chief Minister could be insulted so easily, what value was left for ordinary Telugu people?
One man refused to remain silent. Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao — the cinematic demigod who had lived in people’s hearts as Rama, Krishna, and Lord Venkateswara — decided to fight for Telugu self-respect.
In 1982, while shooting for Sardar Paparayudu in Ooty, in the role of Alluri Sitarama Raju, NTR announced to stunned reporters that he was entering politics. He said he would balance cinema and politics equally, and soon he would float a political party. That party was the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), born to restore dignity to Telugu people.
The 1983 Revolution
NTR did not wait for years to prepare. He designed the legendary Chaitanya Ratham, driven by his son Harikrishna, and stormed across every village and town in Andhra Pradesh. The yellow flag became the banner of hope.
Congress mocked him as a “make-up man” unfit for politics. But people welcomed him with devotion, because in their homes, on their walls, and in their prayers, NTR was already their god.
The results of the 1983 election stunned the nation. In just nine months of founding the party, NTR swept to power, ending Congress’s 35-year dominance. For the poor, he became their Annayya (elder brother), who gave them rice at two rupees a kilo and introduced welfare schemes that touched every home.
Chandrababu Naidu Enters the Story
Among those watching was a young Congress MLA from Chittoor — N. Chandrababu Naidu. Before 1983, Naidu even challenged his party to let him contest directly against NTR, claiming he could defeat him. The Congress leadership, knowing NTR’s stature, refused.
When TDP stormed to power, Naidu defected from Congress to TDP. NTR, generous and trusting, welcomed him with open arms — as a politician and as family, since Naidu was married to his daughter Bhuvaneshwari.
NTR gave him prominence, eventually making him Revenue and Finance Minister. Over time, Chandrababu became so powerful that people joked, “For any work, go to Babu first.” Senior leaders resented it, but NTR overlooked their warnings. What NTR didn’t see was the corruption, manipulation, and ambition building under Naidu’s polished exterior.
Nadendla Coup and NTR’s Return
In 1984, while NTR was away in the US for medical treatment, the Congress and its allies exploited the situation. Nadendla Bhaskar Rao, a TDP leader, became a pawn in their conspiracy, taking oath as CM in NTR’s absence.
But Telugu people erupted in anger. The betrayal sparked mass protests and a democratic awakening. Within a month, Delhi had to bend. NTR returned as CM, dissolved the Assembly, and went for fresh elections. Once again, the people gave him an unbeatable mandate.
But the seeds of ambition were already sprouting in Naidu’s mind.
1989 Defeat and Lakshmi Parvathi’s Entry
By 1989, corruption and arrogance in TDP, much of it blamed on Naidu’s influence, cost the party dearly. Congress returned to power. NTR became the opposition leader, but age and loneliness weighed on him.
At this time, Lakshmi Parvathi entered his life, providing companionship and loyalty. NTR married her publicly in Tirupati, defying family and party objections. Chandrababu Naidu and his allies warned that this marriage would destroy the party, but NTR never bent once he made a decision.
The 1994 Landslide
In 1994, critics predicted people would reject NTR because of Lakshmi Parvathi. But the masses once again proved their loyalty. Campaigning with Parvathi by his side, NTR swept the elections. Congress was reduced to just 26 seats, not even enough for opposition status.
His first act after swearing in? Signing the file for liquor prohibition. NTR, now in his seventies, was still a man of the people.
But for Chandrababu Naidu, Lakshmi Parvathi’s presence meant an end to his role as the “backroom boss.” He realized that if he wanted absolute power, he would have to snatch it — even if it meant betraying his own father-in-law.
The Viceroy Hotel Conspiracy
August 24, 1995 – Naidu gathered over 150 MLAs at Hyderabad’s Viceroy Hotel on Tank Bund Road. Reports suggest MLAs were lured with money, promises of ministerial posts, and threats
.The group passed a resolution against dissolving the Assembly, directly challenging NTR’s authority as Chief Minister.
This was no revolt of ideology — it was a family-engineered coup. Naidu roped in NTR’s son Harikrishna, his son-in-law Daggubati Venkateswara Rao, and other family members. He promised Daggubati the post of Deputy CM in return for betrayal.
Even Speaker Yanamala Ramakrishnudu joined the plot.
The Viceroy Hotel became a fortress of treachery, guarded round the clock. Inside, Chandrababu manipulated numbers. Outside, the man who created the party was left helpless.
August 30, 1995 – Backstab Day
NTR did not give up. He revived the Chaitanya Ratham and launched the “Save Democracy Campaign.” Lakshmi Parvathi, the woman they demonized, stood firmly by his side. People thronged his rallies, chanting his name.
On August 30, 1995, he parked the Ratham outside the Viceroy Hotel, demanding the release of MLAs whom he believed were captive to Naidu’s coercion.
The scene that followed was heartbreaking. Slippers were hurled at the Ratham. One nearly struck Lakshmi Parvathi. Police blocked NTR — the sitting Chief Minister — from entering the hotel where his own MLAs were barricaded.
For NTR, this was worse than death. In tears, he told the people: “I died this very moment.”
That day, August 30, 1995, went down as Backstab Day — when a son-in-law betrayed his father-in-law, when family stabbed the very man who gave them their identity, when the founder of Telugu self-respect was humiliated with slippers at a hotel gate.
The Fall of a Lion
August 26, 1995 – Speaker Ramakrishnudu declared that Naidu had 163 MLAs on his side.
September 1, 1995 – Chandrababu Naidu was sworn in as Chief Minister. To rub salt in the wound, NTR’s son Harikrishna joined Naidu’s Cabinet.
September 7, 1995 – Naidu secured a trust vote with support from the Left and AIMIM. 28 loyal NTR MLAs were suspended from the Assembly.
Naidu didn’t just grab the CM chair. He seized the party’s name, its symbol, and froze bank accounts. He stripped NTR of everything he had built.
The Final Days
The betrayal shattered NTR. In his last interviews, he called Naidu and his accomplices “backstabbers.” He vowed to return, but his body couldn’t withstand the grief. His health deteriorated rapidly.
On January 18, 1996, Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao breathed his last. A lion was brought down not by enemies, but by his own blood.
Timeline of Betrayal
1982 – NTR announces entry into politics, forms TDP.
1983 – TDP wins within 9 months; NTR becomes first non-Congress CM.
1984 – Nadendla coup fails; NTR returns stronger.
1989 – TDP loses elections; NTR moves to Opposition.
1994 – NTR returns with a landslide; Congress reduced to 26 seats.
August 24, 1995 – Naidu gathers 150+ MLAs at Viceroy Hotel.
August 26, 1995 – Speaker confirms Naidu’s majority of 163 MLAs.
August 30, 1995 – NTR’s Ratham attacked with slippers outside Viceroy Hotel; NTR humiliated.
September 1, 1995 – Naidu sworn in as CM.
September 7, 1995 – Naidu wins trust vote; NTR loyalists suspended.
January 18, 1996 – NTR passes away, broken by betrayal.
The Lasting Wound
NTR gave Telugu people their pride, their self-respect, and their own political voice. Yet, on Backstab Day, his own son-in-law, Chandrababu Naidu, betrayed him, using money, manipulation, and family treachery.
To this day, August 30, 1995, remains the darkest chapter in Andhra politics — not because NTR was defeated, but because he was humiliated by those closest to him.
History remembers Annayya NTR as the man who stood for Telugu pride. History remembers Chandrababu Naidu as the man who stabbed that pride in the back with slippers at the gates of Viceroy Hotel.
