Jeevan Reddy tells Rahul Gandhi that State leadership is working against high command

Congress MLC T Jeevan Reddy said that the State leadership was encouraging defections into the party, was against the AICC’s policies and that such steps were leaving local leaders in distress

Hyderabad: Raising severe objections over the State leadership encouraging defections into the party, Congress MLC T Jeevan Reddy said this was against the AICC’s policies and that such steps were leaving local leaders in distress.

The Congress party had released Panch Nyay, which stipulates immediate loss of membership upon defection. The party had also resolved to bring in consequent changes in the 10th schedule of the constitution on defections. In sharp contrast to these policies, the State leadership was encouraging defection of MLAs from other parties, especially BRS, he said in a letter to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Thursday.

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“While elected Congress leaders are working towards fulfilling the promises made to the people, our party admitted M Sanjay Kumar, who won against me on a BRS ticket into the party,” Jeevan Reddy said, adding that after having undergone severe mental trauma and humiliation, besides pressure from his supporters, he wanted to resign. However, AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal, AICC Telangana incharge Deepadas Munshi, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka  and IT Minister D Sridhar Babu had prevailed upon him and asked him not to take any hasty decisions.

Reminding Rahul Gandhi about this, the Congress MLC pointed out that Banswada MLA from BRS, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, who was instrumental in divesting Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka in the past, as Leader of Opposition of the Congress party in the Assembly, was also taken into the party, and now, Srinivas Reddy had organised a meeting of defectors recently, in which Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Deepadas Munshi also participated. In the meeting, it emerged that the government and Congress party would fully support the defectors in their constituencies. This apart, in future also, they would be entrusted with equal responsibilities in the respective constituencies, the MLC said, stressing that this had not gone down well with local leaders.

Alleging that Maru Ganga Reddy, a staunch Congress leader, was brutally murdered by followers of Jagtial MLA M Sanjay Kumar, Jeevan Reddy said the incident had left him and the entire Congress cadre in agony. He questioned about the need to encourage defections into the party, when the Congress with 65 MLAs and one CPI MLA had clear majority in the Assembly. Despite this, defections were being encouraged much against Congress policies, he said.

TPCC chief Mahesh Kumar Goud flies to Delhi

Hyderabad: Amidst simmering discontent in the party over defections into the Congress, TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud flew to New Delhi on a two-day visit. He is expected to meet the high command and discuss the current political situation in the State, besides party affairs.

According to party sources, special focus would be on internal differences between the leaders and those who had joined the Congress from other parties. Though he has officially gone to New Delhi to participate in a book release function, there could also be discussion on constituting new committees in the Pradesh Congress, the sources added.