Danam Nagender disqualification embarrassment to Congress high command, say senior leaders

Senior Congress leaders have described the Telangana High Court’s disqualification of Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender as an embarrassment to the party high command. They said the verdict could intensify scrutiny of defections from the BRS into the Congress.

Hyderabad: Following the Telangana High Court’s judgment disqualifying Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender on Friday, senior Congress leaders who have remained loyal to the party described the verdict as an embarrassment to the high command. Several senior leaders said the issue was not confined to the Telangana Congress and could become a topic of discussion at the national level, particularly as the State unit was facing criticism for encouraging nine other BRS MLAs to join the party.

The AICC was now in a difficult position to defend the Khairatabad MLA’s defection, a senior leader from Gandhi Bhavan said. The episode had remained contentious from the beginning due to the State leadership’s decisions and preferences, he added. “Danam Nagender was keen to resign as MLA and contest the Lok Sabha elections. But, overconfidently, the State leadership refrained him,” the senior leader recalled.

---

Congress leaders who have remained loyal to the party over the years have repeatedly raised objections to defections. Former Minister T Jeevan Reddy had even quit the party and joined the BRS over the induction of Jagtial MLA M Sanjay Kumar, who had defected from the BRS to the Congress. Similarly, former Minister G Chinna Reddy had criticised the State leadership for facilitating the entry of Wanaparthy MLA T Megha Reddy into the party. He was earlier associated with the BRS.

Another senior Congress leader said that when the BRS filed petitions before Speaker G Prasad Kumar, he should have initiated action in accordance with the law. However, he dismissed the petitions, leading to the High Court’s intervention and the subsequent verdict, the leader observed.

“Telangana Congress may not suffer much damage, but the party high command will be questioned. It is definitely an embarrassment to the AICC,” the senior leader stressed, suggesting that the high command should tighten its control over the affairs of the State unit.