Chandrashekhar puts blame on Chandrababu

‘‘It was a small technical matter which the court accepted,’’ said Rao.

The court had issued the warrant against Rao after he failed to appear in the court on charges of cheating filed by fellow TRS member N. Prahalad. Prahalad had alleged that the TRS had denied tickets to political aspirants after accepting money from them just before the elections.

Accusing Naidu of weaning away party workers like Prahalad and working against the Telangana cause, Rao said, ‘‘We are a transparent party and keep all the money sent by ticket-seekers in a bank account on the assurance that the money would be returned to those who were denied tickets.’’

Rao said that at one point of time, the TRS wanted to contest all seats before an arrangement was worked out with the Congress. ‘‘We told our sympathisers that we would not be contesting all the seats,’’ he added.

The TRS chief met with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday and was advised by them to be present in the court in Hyderabad. ‘‘I thought I should present my case to them and sought their advice,’’ said Rao, denying that he had gone to submit his resignation papers. ‘‘I will fight the case in court as they (Prahalad and others) do not have a case against me,’’ Rao said.

Denying that the Congress was split on the issue of supporting him, Rao said: ‘‘The Congress is solidly behind me. When I met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi yesterday, they advised me to go to Hyderabad and seek relief in the court’’. Rao will leave for Hyderabad later this evening and said he would consult his lawyers to determine the future course of action.