Amidst a growing clamour from his own partymen for disciplinary action against the three TDP Rajya Sabha members who abstained from voting on the FDI in retail in the Upper House on Friday and the party’s image taking a beating on its anti-Congress stand, party chief Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday deferred a decision on action against the MPs.
He is understood to have decided to place the matter before the politburo, the party’s highest decision-making body, for further action.
Two of the three MPs met Chandrababu Naidu in Adilabad district on Saturday and explained to him that apart from the ealier reasons they had cited they had also thought it was not a very important issue since the Congress had already mustered enough strength to ensure the passage of the bill in the Rajya Sabha.
Chandrababu Naidu has come under tremendous pressure on Friday with leaders of the party demanding action against the three Rajya Sabha members - T Devender Goud, Sujana Chowdary and Gundu Sudharani - for abstaining from voting on FDI. Apart from demand for action from his own partymen, Naidu has faced a fusillade from leaders of other parties too who have begun singing the chorus that the abstention of the three Rajya Sabha members only established the point beyond doubt that the TDP is in league with the Congress.
At the end of the day, two of the three MPs justified their abstention from the voting while Suajana Chowdary had repented for not taking part in the voting.
After receiving summons from Naidu, Sujana Chowdary and Gundu Sudharani rushed to Adilabad (where he is on his Vastunna Meekosam Padayatra) and met him separately. They explained to him the circumstances under which they had to be away from the House.
Naidu, who gave a patient hearing, deferred a decision on taking action against them since he is understood to have made up his mind to place it in the politburo.
Chowdary was closeted with Naidu for more than 25 minutes at Mategaon and explained why he had to be away from the House. “Our absence has dented the party’s image.
I am ready to face any punishment including quitting the membership of Rajya Sabha. Our president will take a decision soon,” he said, denying emphatically that he did not have any hanky panky business with the Congress. “I will never strike any deal with the Congress, come what may,” he said.
Sudha Rani told Naidu that due to personal reasons she could not take part in voting. “I did not skip voting deliberately to help someone. I did not know that the issue was so serious,” she said.
She said the demand for action against her and the other two Rajya Sabha members, raised by some party leaders like E Dayakar Rao and Kadiyam Srihari, was unreasonable. “As the UPA had enough strength in the Rajya Sabha too, we did not think taking part in voting was very important,” she said. “In the state Assembly too, when voting took place on the SC and ST Sub-plan Bill, several MLAs did not take part in voting. In the Lok Sabha, Adilabad MP Ramesh Rathod too did not take part in voting.
If party wants to take disciplinary action against the MPs, it should take similar action against the MLAs too,” Sudharani said.
Meanwhile, Devender Goud told reporters here on Saturday that voting on allowing FDI in retail in the Rajya Sabha did not merit any importance since the UPA had mustered enough strength to defeat the motion. “As I had health problem, I returned to Hyderabad and my tour programme is known to our president,” he said.
Asking why some leaders are trying to make it an issue, Devender said he had never compromised on anything in his whole political career. “The Congress cannot purchase a leader like me,” he said.
On the other hand, TDP leaders E Dayakar Rao, Kotha Kota Dayakar Reddy and Kadiyam Srihari said the three MPs deserved punishment as they had violated party discipline.
“Even as Chandrababu Naidu is on a padayatra exposing the corrupt rule of the Congress, our MPs helped the Congress during voting on FDI in retail,” Dayakar Reddy said.