Jana faces wrath of Telangana leaders

Panchayat raj minister K Jana Reddy faced the ire of the leaders of Telangana people’s organisations and Telangana employees’ associations on Sunday at a meeting at Somajiguda here, organised to bid farewell to the former president of the Telangana Non-Gazetted Officers (TNGOs) Association, K Swami Goud, on the occasion of his retirement from the government service.

When Jana Reddy requested the leaders in the meeting not to give lengthy speeches on Telangana, as the meeting was organised to bid  farewell to Swami Goud and felicitate newly elected president of the TNGOs G Devi Prasad and secretary K Ravinder Reddy, Telangana leaders like Addanki Dayakar and C Vittal shouted slogans against the minister saying he was trying to belittle the votaries of Telangana. Several leaders from these associations even went to the dais and tried to encircle the minister and jeer him by questioning his commitment for the Telangana cause.

Despite appeals by Telangana Congress leaders K Kesava Rao and Madhu Yashki Goud, MP, not to question the commitment of Jana Reddy, the enraged Telangana employees and leaders did not stop shouting for a while.

Speaking later, Jana Reddy said nobody could question his commitment for separate Telangana.

He said he was not such a person who bragged about his role in the Telangana movement. He said it was he who prevailed upon the state government to release Swami Goud, the moment the latter was arrested during the Telangana agitation.