Arrest bid on Konda Surekha’s OSD exposes factional tensions, commission politics in Congress

A dramatic police attempt to arrest Minister Konda Surekha’s aide has triggered a political storm in Telangana, exposing deep divisions within the Congress Cabinet. Allegations of corruption, caste bias, and interference in Medaram Jathara contracts have intensified tensions, with Surekha and her family accusing senior leaders of conspiracy.

Hyderabad: The Congress government in Telangana found itself reeling under serious internal strife after dramatic scenes at Forest and Endowments Minister Konda Surekha’s residence late on Wednesday night, when police attempted to arrest her Officer on Special Duty (OSD) N Sumanth.

The incident snowballed into a full-blown political storm, laying bare sharp divisions within the Ministers of the ruling party and even adding a caste dimension to the turmoil. Surekha avoided a crucial Cabinet meeting on Thursday afternoon and instead, went directly to meet AICC in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan and TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud.

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The trouble began after the government abruptly terminated Sumanth’s services on Tuesday, reportedly citing corruption allegations. Sumanth, appointed on contract by the Telangana State Pollution Control Board and later deputed to the Minister’s office, was accused of seeking bribes and commissions from stone crusher operators and misusing funds related to the Medaram Jathara festival. His dismissal came shortly after Surekha had accused Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy of meddling in Medaram contracts, a coincidence that the Konda family believes was deliberate.

On Wednesday night, Task Force police arrived at Surekha’s Hyderabad residence reportedly acting on information that Sumanth was hiding there.

The Minister’s daughter, Konda Sushmitha, confronted the police and alleged that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and the CM’s Advisor Vem Narender Reddy had conspired to frame Sumanth and target her mother.

In a video that went viral, Surekha herself was seen shielding Sumanth and driving him away even as police stood by.

The controversy deepened as Sushmitha made a series of explosive claims, linking the episode to the Rs 71 crore Medaram Jathara tenders. She alleged that although the Jathara falls under the Endowments Department’s purview, Ponguleti interfered to ensure contracts were moved to the Revenue Department.

“When our people won the bids, Ponguleti called my mother and asked them to withdraw. Why will they withdraw?” she said.

She further accused the Reddy community within the Congress of attempting to suppress leaders from the Backward Classes, calling the episode a ‘systematic attempt by the Reddys to finish BC leaders politically’.

She also alleged that the CM’s aide Rohin Reddy and the Deccan Cements management were involved in discussions that were now being projected as extortion cases against Sumanth.

Early on Thursday, former MLC and Surekha’s husband, Konda Murali, claimed ignorance of the Hyderabad episode but dismissed talk of any feud with the Chief Minister. “I have no issues with Revanth anna,” he said, adding that he still expected the MLC post promised to him.

In the meantime, the government transferred all Medaram development works from the Endowments Department to the Roads and Buildings Department, citing lack of ‘technical expertise’. The move was perceived as a direct snub to Surekha, further fuelling speculation of growing hostility within the Cabinet.

Amidst the uproar, Surekha skipped Thursday’s Cabinet meeting in a mark of protest, and instead went to meet Meenakshi Natarajan and Mahesh Kumar Goud to share her grievances. She said the leadership assured her of full support.

“Both Meenakshi Natarajan and Goud said they will try to work out a solution for the entire issue,” she told reporters after the three-hour meeting, adding that she was leaving the resolution in the hands of the leadership.

The entire episode has exposed deep fissures within the Congress government, with senior Ministers trading charges and family members of a Minister openly accusing the Chief Minister’s camp of conspiracy, commission politics and caste bias, a political crisis that is draining crucial energy for the Congress, already hit by legal hurdles to its attempts to woo the BC community, just before the Jubilee Hills bypoll and local body polls.