Jolt to Telangana Congress and CPI: MP, 2 MLAs join TRS

Hyderabad: In another jolt to the already beleaguered Telangana state Congress and also the CPI, a Congress MP and MLA, a CPI MLA and three senior Congress leaders have decided to join the ruling TRS.

Nalgonda Congress MP Gutta Sukender Reddy, Miryalguda Congress MLA N. Bhaskar Rao, the lone CPI Devarkonda (ST) MLA Ravindra Kumar Ramavath, former Congress Peddapally MP G. Vivekanand, his brother and former Congress minister G. Vinod (both sons of G. Venkataswamy), and Congress leader Juvvada Narsing Rao from Korutla, on Monday, announced their decision to quit their respective parties and join the TRS.

Gutta says he’s impressed by K Chandrasekhar Rao
Gutta Sukhender Reddy and other leaders said they had decided to join the TRS as they were “impressed by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s development initiatives and supported him in the making of Bangaru Telangana”.

Mr Vivekanand and Mr Ravindra Kumar hailed the CM’s SC, ST welfare and developmental schemes. The leaders will take on the TRS’ “pink khandwas” from Mr Rao, who is also the TRS president, at a function to be held at Telangana Bhavan on Wednesday.

“I decided to join the TRS impressed by Mr Rao’s developmental works in the past two years and to be a part of it. I am also pained at the internal squabbles in the Congress which led to issuing of show-cause notices to some leaders,” said three-time MP Mr Sukhender Reddy while interacting with the media at the residence of Mr Vivekanand here Monday.

He added, “Ninety five per cent of the people have backed my decision. I apologise to the rest.”Asked if he had been promised a minister’s post by the CM and whether he would quit his MP seat, he said, “There’s no such commitment. My joining is unconditional. I will quit at an appropriate time.”

There are, however, rumours that Mr Sukhender Reddy will be made MLC and inducted into the state Cabinet. When questioned about complaints and cases filed against the TRS government with the Centre and in courts, he said a case pertaining to the defection of a Zilla Parishad chairman and Cabinet status for Parliamentary secretaries were pending in courts.

“With regard to complaint on Mission Bhagiratha, I got a reply from the Centre as well as the state. I am satisfied with the replies,” he said.

Mr Sukhender Reddy was all praise for Mr Rao for taking up the Rs 25,000-crore Yadadri power project, Dindi irrigation project and other development and welfare programmes in the past two years.

To a question whether he was quitting because the Congress had weakened and was hit by internal squabbles, he replied, “Is there any doubt? The Congress is becoming weak due to internal squabbles.”

Mr Sukhender Reddy, Mr Vivek, Mr Vinod and Mr Narsing Rao, however, praised AICC president Sonia Gandhi for granting statehood to Telangana. Mr Sukhender Reddy called Mrs Gandhi a “Devatha (God)”.

They also thanked TPCC president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, CLP leader K. Jana Reddy, ex-MP Ponnam Prabhakar, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy for their support during their stint in the Congress.