D Raja pulls up Congress and TDP, says its not time to fight and settle scores

Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D Raja on Wednesday took the Congress Party and the Telegu Desam Party (TDP) to task over reports that its leaders entered into a brawl at the Dehradun Airport trying to claim credit in the rescue operations, and said this is not the time to fight and settle scores, but time to stand united and fight to rescue those stranded.

"This is not the time to fight and settle scores, this is the time to stand united and fight to rescue the stranded. Not time to score brownie points," he told the media here, while disapproving the act.

Raja further said the current situation in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand is not an issue concerning the state, but the entire country.

"The work done by the army is commendable. They should be congratulated," he added.

Telegu Desam Party (TDP) and the Congress Party leaders entered into a squabble at the Dehradun Airport earlier this evening over who will fly the victims back home.

Members of the Congress and the TDP pushed each other to grab a batch of people who were brought to the airport after being rescued. Both parties wanted to fly home the survivors, who are from Andhra Pradesh.

The Telugu Desam was about to take the flood victims to Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam when Congress MP V Hanumantha Rao barged in.

An argument later broke out between and V Hanumantha Rao and TDP MP Ramesh Rathod. They were later seen exchanging angry words following which the police had to intervene to separate the duo.

Instead of apologising, the leaders of the two political outfits later indulged in petty blame game.