Hyderabad: Resentment is brewing within the state Congress over TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy’s unilateral approach in chalking out protest programmes and inducting leaders from other parties, sources said.
Party leaders said that the adverse impact of the leader’s decision to hold the Dharani protest programme on Wednesday in the city, instead of rural areas, led to it ending as a damp squib.
Sources also said that contrary to an announcement by the TPCC chief in New Delhi, about a series of agitations along with dates, there has been no discussion with the party’s central leadership on the same.
Senior party leaders were against filling the party ranks with the TPCC chief’s supporters from other parties, claiming that issuing tickets to such aspirants may lead to them switching loyalties in the case of a hung Assembly. They were also against Revanth’s strategy to prioritise 40 Assembly seats in the upcoming polls.
Party sources told Deccan Chronicle that veteran leader K. Jana Reddy was displeased over being kept in dark about the recent induction of leaders into the party, as he was officially designated as the chairman of the committee on poaching.
He is said to have questioned the sanctity of the committee, which was not apprised of the induction of P. Janardhan Reddy’s daughter, Vijaya Reddy, into the party ranks. There were objections raised over the proposed move to bring D. Srinivas and his son Sanjay into the party’s fold.
“Revanth is bluntly saying that he does not want to disclose details of leaders because it would alert the rival parties and the AICC incharge echoes his stand. But, interests of leaders who remained loyal to the party for decades and suffered in the past eight years need to be protected,” a senior leader said.
The leader said that party leaders communicated to the high command that Revanth must not make promises while inducting leaders from other parties, and that they must join unconditionally.
Recently, leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, following a meeting with AICC leader K.C. Venugopal, appealed to the media not to project difference of opinion as dissidence.
Sources said he was referring to working president T. Jayaprakash Reddy (Jagga Reddy) openly objecting to Revanth’s aggressive remarks against leaders, who, he said, cross party lines.
“As PCC president, he should not have lost his cool and should have been careful with the words he was using,” a second party leader said, while adding that there was no surprise he would try to end the controversy by regretting the use of such words, as in the case of remarks on the supremacy of Reddys in Congress.
The leaders have also been complaining against Revanth suspending the meetings of the PCC and political affairs committee to avoid being questioned by other senior leaders.
