The slug-fest continued on Sunday too between Kiran and Jaipal Reddy camps. The controversy over non-allocation of gas to the plants proposed in Telangana districts continued to provide enough ammo for them to attack their respective leaders. On Sunday, batting on behalf of the chief minister was Sangareddy legislator T Jayaprakash Reddy who is said to be close to Kiran Kumar Reddy. He trained guns at Union petroleum minister S Jaipal Reddy stating that he was eyeing the chief minister’s chair and hence trying to unseat Kiran Reddy.
The Sangareddy legislator alleged that by conspiring with TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao and Congress senior leader K Kesava Rao, Jaipal Reddy was putting in all efforts to depose Kiran Kumar Reddy.
In a media conference, Jayaparakash Reddy said Jaipal Reddy had not done anything for development of the state despite being a Union minister for several years. He demanded that Jaipal Reddy release a white paper on his contribution as a Union minister to the development of the state.
He also demanded that Jaipal clarify his stand on the Telangana issue.
He launched a broadside against K Kesava Rao for giving a call to the Telangana MLAs to pull down the state government to achieve a saparate state. He charged Kesava Rao with acting like an agent for KCR and demanded that he be expelled from the Congress.
Senior Congress leader and MP V Hanumantha Rao indirectly blamed the chief minister for the utterances of Jayaprakash against Jaipal.
“When the chief minister himself gave a press release openly accusing the Union petroleum minister of doing harm to the state, how can leaders like Jagga Reddy remain silent on the issue?” Rao questioned. However, he did not want to comment on Jagga Reddy’s remarks saying that a leader like him would not stoop to the level of Jagga Reddy.
“I don’t want to give chance to the Opposition by openly criticising our partymen. If at all anything is there, I will take it to the notice of the party high command. But one thing I can say is Kesava Rao is a senior most leader in the Congress. People very well know about Jagga Reddy, who changed parties,” Rao said.