Gone Prakash writes to Sonia, insists on inquiry into tickets allocation

Senior leaders in the State Congress are now demanding a thorough inquiry into the alleged sale of tickets, surveys and preference being given to what they termed as ‘parachute’ leaders.

Hyderabad: After several ticket aspirants, senior leaders in the State Congress are now demanding a thorough inquiry into the alleged sale of tickets, surveys and preference being given to what they termed as ‘parachute’ leaders. Former MLA and former APSRTC Chairman Gone Prakash Rao on Friday wrote a letter to Congress Parliamentary Party Chief Sonia Gandhi in this regard.

Stating that BCs and marginalized section leaders were not getting due recognition in the Telangana Congress, he said of the 55 candidates announced in the first list, 12 were “parachute” leaders, who joined the Congress recently. Citing biased surveys, TPCC president Revanth Reddy was manipulating the ticket allotment process for his followers, neglecting the loyalty of Congress leaders for many years, he charged.

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For instance, former Minister Tummala Nageshwar Rao, who recently shifted from BRS, had lost elections five times, including three while serving as a Minister, he pointed out. The former Minister was now being projected as a prominent leader of Khammam district, alongside Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, also from BRS and now in Congress. Both these leaders failed to secure more than one seat for the BRS in the last Assembly elections in the erstwhile Khammam district, he said.

“It saddens me to inform you that leaders like these are being awarded tickets based on “biased and unreliable surveys”. TPCC president Revanth Reddy and other senior leaders are sidelining underprivileged and weaker sections leaders, who sacrificed a lot in the last ten years for the party” Gone Prakash Rao said in the letter. Apart from insisting on comprehensive inquiry into sale of tickets, he also demanded that the Chief Minister’s post should be offered to the weaker sections, if the Congress party secures power in Telangana.