Hyderabad: Sparks fly at Congress meeting

Hyderabad: Trouble started brewing in Telangana Congress just a day after the results of high-stakes byelection to Huzurabad Assembly Constituency were announced. Internal clashes among senior leaders came to light on Wednesday at the party's Political Affairs Committee (PAC) meeting, conducted at Gandhi Bhavan.

Expressing displeasure over the Congress candidate's defeat in the bypoll under the leadership of A Revanth Reddy, senior leader K Jana Reddy left the meeting in the middle citing a busy schedule in his home constituency, Nagarjunasagar. Jana also informed the PAC, headed by State Congress in-charge Manickam Tagore, that he would not attend every meeting of the party from here onwards.

Making the meeting more gloomy further, CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and senior leader Renuka Chaudhary exchanged a war of words. Renuka alleged that the CLP leader was not making efforts to strengthen the party in Khammam district from where the latter is a sitting MLA. She questioned the CLP leader for creating group politics in the district.

Similarly, senior leader and Bhongir MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and Munugodu MLA Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy distanced themselves from the meeting. The duo raised strong objection to the appointment of Revanth as TPCC president recently. Some leaders in the meeting also raised doubts over fielding "weak candidate" in the just-concluded Huzurabad byelection. The Congress would have got more votes if a leader from the SC community was fielded in the bypoll, several felt. Congress forfeited deposit by not even securing 4,000 votes in the byelection.

Meanwhile, the PAC has decided to hold a week-long Praja Chaitanya Yatra from November 14 to 21, across the State and also launch a series of agitations on the issues concerning farmers, Podu lands and the rising prices of fuel and other essential commodities.

The Congress in-charge, meanwhile, directed the party leaders to restrain from making any media statements on party's affairs that could malign the party image. However, in a quick reaction, party senior leader VH Hanumantha Rao objected to the restrictions imposed on leaders from making media statements.