Renuka, Jayaprada clash again

The war of words between Union Minister of State for Health Renuka Choudhary and film-star-turned-Rajya-Sabha-member Jayaprada rages again.

The latest round of ego clashes broke out when Jayaprada snubbed the vocal minister at this week's Telugu Desam Parliamentary Party meeting in New Delhi.

Adding fuel to the fire was Chittoor MP K Ramakrishna Reddy who threw his weight behind Jayaprada, and walked out of the meeting. Reddy, who hails from the chief minister's home district, vowed not to attend any meeting chaired by Choudhary.

Sources said Reddy does not like Choudhary's ''overbearing ways'', and feels threatened by her ''growing influence'' in his home district. Some members of the state legislative assembly close to the minister have been ignoring Reddy.

Another source said Reddy may have joined hands with the film star as both are partners in a business venture in Madras.

Whatever be Reddy's motive in attacking Choudhary, it is now clear that Jayaprada never forgave the minister for calling her a ''bimbo'' soon after joining the Inder Kumar Gujral ministry.

Jayaprada instantly launched a counter-offensive, and the media was flooded with stories about the ''unsavoury'' episode. The star even urged the Telugu Desam party leadership to take Choudhary to task for her unparliamentary language.

Despite the high decibels generated by Jayaprada, the party leadership did not seem to take notice of the issue even as the rumours mills worked overtime. Adding to the confusion was the ''fact'' that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu himself was unhappy with Choudhary's elevation.

As rumours flew, a claim emerged quietly that Naidu had brokered a truce between the warring camps. However, considering this week's clash, it is not difficult to gauge the veracity of the claim.

With two prominent TDP MPs slugging it out in the open, Naidu seems to be worried. He seems to have taken a serious view of the dissension in the TDP's parliamentary wing, which have affected the party's image badly. It is perhaps because of the clashes that Naidu has delayed announcement of the party's parliamentary wing leader. Choudhary resigned from the post soon after she became a minister.