YSR, Naidu get ‘sonstruck’

Feb. 10: Fathers will be fathers, whether they don the mantle of the Chief Minister or that of the opposition leader.The Assembly was witness to this truth on Tuesday when Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy and Mr N. Chandra-babu Naidu went all wide eyed while praising the sterling characters of their sons.The sons were dragged into the debate after allegations were made about a “Satyam” hand behind the Telugu Desam chief’s son Lokesh’s overseas education and counter charges were hurled about Mr Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy’s business “irregularities”.Even while explaining how they took pains to bring up their sons as model citizens, the two leaders did not hesitate to take digs at each other’s sons. The filial affection and rivalry of the two leaders turned the Satyam-Maytas debate into a lecture on parenting.“Do you think I am not in a position to provide good education to my son?” asked an angry Mr Naidu. “He is my only son. Don’t forget his grandfather also served as chief minister. Also, there are many scholarships.”When Congress MLA, Ms Konda Surekha, quipped that Mr Naidu’s son was not that meritorious, she touched a raw nerve. “I have brought up my son well,” shouted Mr Naidu. “He is not like your Chief Minister’s son, who came by the return flight when sent abroad for studies.”Needless to say, this irked the other father. Rising up in defence of Jagan, Dr Reddy said he had returned as he was homesick. “I know many things about your son but I do not want to reveal it all here,” the Chief Minister told Mr Naidu, as treasury benches booed at the leader of the opposition.Dr Reddy then rummaged through his papers and commented that there was nothing wrong if some people bought shares in his son’s venture, Saakshi.Mr Naidu also evaded a specific question on whether he had taken the permission of the RBI to send thousands of dollars to his son. After all, which father keeps track of such things?