KTR meets Ponnala, invites him to join BRS

Rama Rao, who invited Lakshmaiah to join the BRS, later told the media that the veteran leader would meet BRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Sunday to discuss his plans

Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Saturday met senior politician and former PCC president Ponnala Lakshmaiah, who had resigned from the Congress on Friday. Rama Rao, who invited Lakshmaiah to join the BRS, later told the media that the veteran leader would meet BRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Sunday to discuss his plans.

Stating that Lakshmaiah was treated in a very humiliating manner by the Congress, Rama Rao pointed out that Lakshmaiah was not a run of the mill politician but someone who had a very impressive track record of over four decades in politics and also of having worked as an engineer with NASA. He had served several posts in the government and with the party when PV Narasimha Rao was the Prime Minister and was a revered BC community leader as well.

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Rama Rao also found fault with TPCC president A Revanth Reddy’s language when he spoke about Lakshmaiah’s resignation, stating while it was up to the party to decide on an MLA ticket for a senior leader, it was downright wrong to insult that leader.

“This will happen if a characterless person, who is notorious as an accused in the cash-for-note case, is made to head the party,” he said, adding that the BRS wished to use the extensive experience and knowledge of Lakshmaiah and that he would the Chief Minister on Sunday to decide on his future course of action.