Charge against Renuka Chowdhury, her camp cries conspiracy

Khammam: As elections near, Congress leaders in Telangana have stepped up the game of one-upmanship over each other.

One played out in the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee’s headquarters, Gandhi Bhavan, recently.

Wife of late Dr Ramji Naik, Kalavathi, brought some serious allegations against Rajya Sabha member Renuka Chowdhury during a dharna here. She said the former Union minister took Rs 1.20 crore from her husband, assuring him the Wyra Assembly seat. She sought justice from the party’s top brass, for what she alleged, was a clear case of cheating.

AICC Telangana in-charge R C Kunthia and AICC secretary Salim Ahmad were in Gandhi Bhavan at the time of Kalavathi’s dharna.

Also present were state leaders like TPCC president Uthamkumar Reddy, CLP leader K Jana Reddy and LOP in Telangana Legislative Council Shabbir Ali. They looked quite shocked at the allegations made.

To counter the “humiliation of their leader”, the Chowdhury camp swung into action the next day and volubly agitated at the same venue, Gandhi Bhavan.

They said there was a conspiracy afoot within the party to malign their leader and that Kalavathi was the face of that plot. Kalavathis’s dharna was stage-managed, her allegations false, the Renuka camp said. Former MLC Potla Nageswara Rao could be seen leading the protests in favour of Renuka.