Telangana Congress in crisis as 13 leaders quit party posts

HYDERABAD: Days after the All India Congress Committee (AICC) constituted the political affairs committee and the executive committee, groupism and internal bickering in the Telangana Congress resurfaced, with 13 Congress leaders, the majority of whom had previously defected to the party from the Telugu Desam, announcing their resignations from party positions.

Among those who resigned from the party posts, in protest against the
behaviour of some senior party leaders, include Mulugu MLA Seethakka, Ch.
Vijaya Ramana Rao, K. Satyanarayana, Subhash Reddy, Patel Ramesh Reddy, Ch. Madhusudhan Reddy, Vem Narender Reddy, D. Sambaiah, Vajresh Yadav, Jangaiah Yadav, Ch. Venkatesh, S. Mallesh and Sashikala Yadava Reddy. A letter of resignation was sent to AICC secretary and in-charge of Telangana Manickam Tagore, stating that they joined the Congress six years ago and have been working with commitment by complying with the Congress’s ideology. They
also stated that if their position became a source of contention among the party's senior leaders, they would gladly resign in order to keep the party united. The resignation of 13 Congress leaders came just a day after Telangana Congress senior leaders, including CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka, Congress LS member N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, MLA T. Jagga Reddy, Madhu Yashki Goud, Damodar Rajanarsimha among others, met and alleged that leaders who defected from other parties were accorded top priority in the PCC committees.

Senior leaders said they have been stymied by the current state party leadership and that of the 108 office bearers appointed recently, some 60 are “migrants from the TD”. “What kind of signal does this send to the party workers?” they were quoted as saying. They announced the formation of a ‘Save Congress in Telangana’ movement to protect the party from “migrated” leaders who joined the Congress after switching loyalties from party to party, a reference to TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy.

Meanwhile, the 13 Congress leaders stated in their resignation letter that they joined the party and worked together to strengthen party activities as well a fight for people's issues while facing various challenges. "Some senior leaders, including Uttam Kumar Reddy, Damodara Raja Narsimha, Madhu Yashki, Turpu Jayaprakash Reddy, Premsagar Rao, Maheswar Reddy, and Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, convened a meeting and objected to their appointment to TPCC Committees. They made a serious allegation that at least half of the TDP leaders who joined Congress were promoted to TPCC Committees,” the leaders who resigned from their party posts stated.