Mahesh Kumar Goud responds to criticism over leadership questions

TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud said his performance would be assessed by the party leadership and not by media reports. His remarks came amid internal Congress tensions after criticism aired by a television news channel and growing support from party leaders.

Hyderabad: A day after a television news channel aired reports describing him as a “disaster leader”, TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud said everybody would get a response at the appropriate time. “Party cadre and the AICC leadership will assess my performance, not a news channel. Any decision on changing the PCC president will be taken only by the high command,” Goud said during an informal interaction with media persons here on Saturday.

He said the Congress high command had appointed him as TPCC president after considering several factors. He also claimed that AICC general secretary KC Venugopal had appreciated his performance. Internal differences within the Telangana Congress came into the open after a news channel known to be supportive of the party ran a campaign criticising the TPCC president and projecting him as an ineffective leader.

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Reacting to the coverage, Goud said media organisations were free to express their opinions. However, he maintained that such reports would not affect his work or standing within the party. “No news channel can undermine my performance. Gandhi Bhavan is run by a trust,” he said.

Meanwhile, a few Congress leaders openly backed Mahesh Kumar Goud amid the ongoing internal tensions within the party. Several social media posts carrying the message, “We stand with Mahesh Kumar Goud”, surfaced online. One such post was shared on X by Konda Sushmitha, daughter of Forest Minister Konda Surekha. However, it remains unclear whether the account is officially operated by her.