Kotla's followers lock Kurnool Congress office

Hyderabad: Followers of former Union minister of state Kotla Jaya Surya Prakash Reddy on Wednesday locked the Kurnool Congress office after he was not allowed to sit on the dais at Tuesday’s party function in Bandlapalli, Anantapur district. The function, to mark 10 years of the MNREGA, was attended by former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

On Wednesday, the ex-minister’s followers led by DCC president D.Y. Ramaiah and others locked the DCC office. They demanded that AICC leader Digvijay Singh and APCC president N. Raghuveera Reddy come down to Kurnool and tender an unconditional apology to Mr Surya Prakash Reddy. They said they would not open the office till the apology was tendered. When newsmen asked Mr Surya Prakash Reddy, he said he would not quit the party though he felt humiliated at being excluded at Tuesday’s function.

“When important leaders of the Congress come to my region, I felt it was my responsibility to attend the function. When I went there, I was told that my name is missing from the list of invitees who were to occupy the dias along with Dr Singh and Mr Gandhi. It is the responsibility of AICC leaders to include my name. It was an insult that I will not forget.”