A day after Telangana Congress MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy announced his resignation from the party and also his assembly membership, the party high command on Wednesday began a damage control exercise by setting up a strategy committee to check exodus of party cadre in Reddy’s Munugode assembly constituency.
All India Congress Committee secretary in charge of Telangana Manickam Tagore announced constitution a seven-member strategy committee headed by PCC campaign committee chairman Madhu Yaskhi Goud to prevent exodus of the party cadre in the constituency in Nalgonda district.
The committee has also been entrusted with a strategy to chalk out the party’s campaign in Munugode, which is expected to go to by-election in October or November following the resignation of Reddy, who is all set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party in a day or two.
On Wednesday, the Congress cadre in Munugode and other parts of Telangana burnt the effigies of Reddy for allegedly betraying the party and joining hands with the BJP.
“It is shameful on the of Rajagopal Reddy to ditch party president Sonia Gandhi who fulfilled the aspirations of four crore Telangana people by granting statehood to the region,” Hyderabad Youth Congress president Mothe Rohit said, after burning the effigy of the MLA along with the party workers at Babu Jagjivan Ram Bhavan.
PCC disciplinary committee chairman and former minister G Chinna Reddy said the resignation of Rajagopal Reddy was no surprise, as everybody in the party was aware why he was joining the BJP. “He lacks integrity and commitment to the party and loyalty to Sonia Gandhi who was responsible for the statehood to Telangana,” Chinna Reddy said.
{{/usCountry}}PCC disciplinary committee chairman and former minister G Chinna Reddy said the resignation of Rajagopal Reddy was no surprise, as everybody in the party was aware why he was joining the BJP. “He lacks integrity and commitment to the party and loyalty to Sonia Gandhi who was responsible for the statehood to Telangana,” Chinna Reddy said.
{{/usCountry}}He announced that the PCC would hold a meeting with the Congress leaders and cadre at Munugode on August 5 and instill confidence among them. “There is no need to get disheartened over the resignation and defection of the MLA. The party is very strong in the constituency, and we shall bounce back,” the PCC leader said.
The PCC chief, who is presently in New Delhi, described Rajagopal Reddy as a betrayer of the Congress party, which had given him a stature and image in the state politics.
“When every Congress leader and worker was fighting on the streets to protest the grilling of Sonia Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate. Rajagopal Reddy had knelt down before Union home minister Amit Shah to protect his business interests,” Revanth Reddy criticised.
He declared that Munugode had elected Sonia Gandhi’s representative and we shall retain the seat,” the PCC chief said.
Reacting strongly to the PCC chief’s comments, Rajagopal Reddy on Wednesday described Revanth Reddy as a ”blackmailer”. “He has no character and morals, and went to jail twice. He has no credibility. How can I work under such a person?” he asked.
Stating that Revanth Reddy had defected to the Congress from the TDP and grabbed the PCC chief post by paying money to the high command, the outgoing MLA alleged that the PCC chief was still working as per the directions of TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu and a few investors from Andhra Pradesh.
He challenged the Congress president to prove that he was joining the BJP for the sake of contracts. “If he proves it, I will quit politics,” Rajagopal Reddy said.