Athmeeya Sammelanam yet again exposes internal bickering among BRS leaders

HYDERABAD: Following the Adilabad district Athmeeya Sammelanam, which exposed a lack of coordination among district party ranks, similar events have turned ugly, with internal bickering between MLAs and party leaders surfacing on Sunday.

Three such incidents were witnessed on Sunday alone. Tandur MLA ‘Pilot’ Rohith Reddy and MLC Patnam Mahender Reddy shoved each other during the Bhadreshwara Swamy Rathotsavam in Tandur. Minister Ch Malla Reddy snatched the mike from former Medchal MLA SM. udheer Reddy after a row erupted over development of the constituency in BRS Athmeeya Sammelanam held in Boduppal. BRS workers in Jagdevpur in Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao's home constituency of Gajwel threw away the chairs at an Athmeeya  Sammelanam to protest against leaders ignoring party workers.

In Tandur, the Bhadreshwara Swamy temple procession was held on a large scale. Rohith Reddy and a large group of his followers arrived at the venue to perform 'aarti' for Lord Shiva. When the MLA was performing 'aarti', MLC Mahender Reddy objected, stating that according to protocol the MLC should perform 'aarti' first.

Rohith Reddy fiercely objected, claiming that as a local MLA, he should be given preference.  This led to heated arguments between the two leaders. Both leaders shoved each other at one point, encouraging their supporters to attack one other.

As a fistfight erupted between followers of both the leaders, the police intervened, dispersing them and bringing the situation under control.

The incident stunned the devotees who had turned up in large numbers. Last year, during the same procession, a fight broke out between the MLA and the MLC over the same issue. Both leaders have been at loggerheads since 2019, when Rohith Reddy representing the Congress defeated Mahender Reddy of the TRS (now BRS) in the 2018 Assembly elections.

Rohith Reddy later joined the TRS (now BRS) in 2019 which was strongly opposed by Mahender Reddy. The BRS leadership pacified Mahender Reddy by nominating him as MLC. Despite this, it failed broker peace between the leaders.
In Boduppal, minister Malla Reddy and former Medchal MLA M. Sudheer Reddy were involved in a bitter war of words on the dais in the presence of BRS Medchal district incharge and MLC Palla Rajeshwar Reddy. Addressing the Atmeeya Sammelanam, Malla Reddy listed out the development activities done by him in the last eight years.

Sudheer Reddy vehemently opposed this, arguing that Malla Reddy was exaggerating the modest amount of development work he had accomplished during his time as an MLA from 2014 to 2018. This led to heated arguments between the two.

While Sudheer Reddy was speaking, Malla Reddy lost his temper and snatched the mike from him, much to the shock of the leaders and party workers present in the meeting. MLC Palla Rajeshwar Reddy pacified the leaders and continued the programme.

The BRS in Medchal constituency has split into two groups headed by Malla Reddy and Sudheer Reddy respectively, after the former joined the TRS from the TD in 2016. Adding fuel to the fire, the party denied a ticket to Sudheer Reddy, who was the MLA then, in the 2018 polls and opted for Malla Reddy.

In the CM's constituency Gajwel, the BRS Atmeeya Sammelanam ended in a fiasco after a row erupted between local leaders and party workers. Party workers strongly objected to the way the meeting was conducted in which only leaders were allowed to speak.

They demanded that the workers be given a chance to express their views and not just leaders. BRS leader and Gajwel constituency incharge Vanteru Prathap Reddy and other local leaders were present on the dias. The workers expressed anger over the leaders failing to get even the CM's appointment for them to meet the CM for the last four years.

They demanded that they be allowed to meet the CM, who is their local MLA, to discuss the party affairs in the constituency. When the leaders refused to give them mike, the workers created a ruckus and threw the chairs and left the venue.