Defending his decision to join the Congress party from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), TPCC chief A. Revanth Reddy asked from which party did Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao come from.
In fact, 75% of TRS leaders and cadre are from the TDP, he said in an interaction with reporters here. Mr. Reddy was responding to TRS leaders’ constant criticism that he had been part of the Telugu Desam Party.
He said before joining the Congress he had submitted his resignation in the Speaker format to TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu as he had given him the ticket. “I also surrendered my gunmen, closed by bank account in the Assembly and never attended the Assembly sessions from the day the resignation was submitted,” he said in response to Municipal Minister K.T. Rama Rao’s criticism of his resignation.
If KTR is talking about morals he should ask the Congress MLAs who defected to the TRS to submit their resignations in the Speaker format to the then TPCC president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and stay away from the Assembly sessions. On the ‘Ghar Wapasi’ of Congress MLAs, he said those who were forced to join can come back but not LB Nagar MLA D. Sudheer Reddy who defected for monetary considerations.
He also criticised Finance Minister T. Harish Rao for raking up his TDP background and said Harish Rao became a minister in the Congress government after working in the TDP. “Moreover, KTR won in 2009 with TDP’s support. They are now criticising me for working in the TDP,” he said. Mr. Reddy said he had worked hard to become the president of the Congress party and coming from without any political background unlike those whose political life was due to their family connection to politics.
Early polls in State
The TPCC chief claimed that KCR would dissolve the Assembly anytime after August 2022 and would go for early polls. Congress would be prepared for that as it was aware of KCR’s political thinking.
On the Huzurabad bypoll, he said any aspirant from the Congress would have to apply to former deputy chief minister Damodar Rajnarsimha who has been made incharge for the bypoll. On Eatala Rajender, he said he would have gained more respect had he stayed as a Telangana fighter than joining the BJP.
Comments on Sharmila
Mr. Reddy said Sharmila was an arrow dropped by her brother and AP Chief Minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy and only time would reveal from whose bow that arrow was shot, and for what purpose. He said it was Y.S. Rajashekhar Reddy’s dream to make Rahul Gandhi the Prime Minister and YSR party should fulfil his dreams.
