Hyderabad: Former Khammam MP Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy will join the Congress in a meeting that is slated to mark the culmination of CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka’s padayatra in Khammam on July 2, said AICC state in-charge Manikrao Thakre at Mamillagudem village in Kodad Assembly constituency on Wednesday.
Vikramarka will be felicitated by Rahul Gandhi on the occasion, he added.
Thakre said, “Bhatti Vikramarka undertook the successful yatra in line with AICC’s directions. It received a good response as it took the ideology of the Congress to the people.”
The 105-day yatra, which started from Bodh in Adilabad district on March 16, covered 36 Assembly constituencies and 600 villages over a distance of 1,221 km, he said. The ‘Haat Se Haat Jodo Yatra’ by APCC president A. Revanth Reddy and Bhatti Vikramarka’s yatra will help resurrect the fortunes of the party in the state, he said.
Incidentally, Bhatti Vikramarka will be welcomed by Srinivas Reddy along with his followers as he enters Khammam, Thakre said.
Meanwhile, he hit out at the manner Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao was splurging money to boost his image.
“What is the intention of taking a convoy of 600 vehicles to Maharashtra? He is spending thousands of crores for his propaganda. What is the source of those funds?” he asked.
“Why has Kavitha not been arrested while Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia is behind bars after a big fuss over her imminent arrest in the Delhi liquor scam? The promises being made by Rao to SCs, STs, BCs and minorities to wean them away from the Congress will not fructify”, he said.
Now that Bhatti Vikramarka and Srinivas Reddy will be together, I am sure that there will be a new adrenaline rush in the party, he said.
The meeting was attended by AICC secretary Rohit Chaudhary, and senior leaders Ramreddy Damodar Reddy and Uttam Padmavathi.
Bhatti Vikramarka, Thakre and Chaudhary held a discussion before they were joined by Srinivas Reddy.
