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Veteran OBC leader quits Congress, likely to join BRS on Oct 16
In his strongly-worded letter to Kharge, Lakshmaiah said he had reached a point where he felt that he could no longer thrive in such an unjust environment.
Veteran Other Backward Classes (OBC) leader of the Telangana Congress and former minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah on Friday resigned from the party, weeks before the assembly elections in the state, alleging humiliation being meted out to him.
“I have sent my resignation letter to All India Congress Committee president Mallikarjun Kharge, explaining the reasons for my decision to quit the party. I cannot continue in the party which has no respect for weaker sections and seniors like me, who have served the party for over four decades,” Lakshmaiah, a four-time MLA from Jangaon assembly constituency, who served as state irrigation minister from 2004 to 2009, told reporters.
Soon after Lakshmaiah announced his resignation, the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leaders contacted him and invited him into the party. “In all probability, he may join the BRS at the public meeting of party president and chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao at Jangaon on October 16,” a BRS spokesman, refusing to be quoted, said.
Lakshmaiah, who served as the Telangana PCC president in 2015, was apparently told that he won’t get the party ticket this time. The Congress is likely to field District Congress Committee president Kommuru Pratap Reddy from Jangaon constituency this time.
In his strongly-worded letter to Kharge, Lakshmaiah said he had reached a point where he felt that he could no longer thrive in such an unjust environment. He said the party’s candidate selection process, which should ideally be driven by the principles of fairness and representation, had come under question.
“Allegations of irregularities further erode our party’s integrity. Unfortunately, we rely on external consultants, often disregarding dedicated workers’ voices,” he alleged.
Lakshmaiah alleged that when a group of 50 BC leaders from Telangana went to Delhi to request prioritisation for the backward classes (BC), they were denied even a meeting with AICC leaders. He dubbed it as an embarrassment for a state that prides itself on self-respect.
“It is deeply unfortunate that senior leaders like me have had to wait for months to discuss party concerns and I have personally expressed the frustration at waiting for 10 days in Delhi to meet AICC general Secretary K C Venugopal,” he added.
The former minister regretted that he was unceremoniously removed from the position of the PCC president in 2015 and he had since raised his voice about these issues for nine years.
“The principles of social justice, which were once the bedrock of the Congress, are seemingly outdated now, with BCs, comprising more that 50% of our society, being treated with disrespected and disregarded,” he added in his letter.
