Congress, TRS Launch Charm Offensive to Hijack TJAC
A day after the TRS ruled out an alliance with the Congress, the two parties intensified their ‘charm offensive’ in their bid to outwit each other and expand base in Telangana. And, what better way to do it than ‘poach’ members of the Telangana Joint Action Committee, which has considerable clout among the people in the region?
TJAC leader Addanki Dayakar on Sunday joined the Congress while folk singer Rasamayi Balakishan and Telangana Gazetted Officers’ Association leader V Srinivas Goud donned the TRS colours. Apart from Dayakar, Osmania University JAC leader Shashank joined the Congress in the presence of the party’s Telangana campaign committee chief C Damodara Rajanarasimha at the Gandhi Bhavan here Sunday.
“Madam Sonia Gandhi made the long-cherished dream of Telangana a reality and that way, paid real tributes to T martyrs,” Dayakar said. In an indirect dig at TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, he said the leader who had promised to merge his party with the Congress should not have reneged on his promise. Rasamayi Balakishan and Srinivas Goud joined the TRS in the presence of Rao at the Telangana Bhavan. Speaking on the occasion, Rao announced he was allotting Mahbubnagar Assembly ticket to Srinivas Goud in the ensuing polls.
The TRS chief had already asked TJAC chairman Prof M Kodandaram to contest the elections on the pink party’s ticket. The Congress leadership on its part has been using every opportunity to cajole TJAC leaders.
Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh and AICC State affairs incharge Digvijaya Singh have invited TJAC leaders into the Congress. And, in what could be seen as yet another move by T Congress leaders to charm TJAC, the party’s manifesto committee on Sunday held a meeting with its members and elicited their views on the promises to be included in the Congress manifesto. Against this backdrop, no wonder the war of words between the two parties escalated. “People of Telangana know very well whose relentless fight has made the T state a reality,” the TRS chief said, referring to the Congress claims on T State. Addressing party workers, Rao asked the people not to trust the Congress.
On the other hand, T Congress leaders too stepped up attacks on the TRS. Damodara Rajanarasimha said if the TRS came to power in the T-state, it would only establish an ‘aristocratic regime’ depriving weaker sections of their rights.
Stating that the Congress had never made any offer for merger or alliance with the TRS, Rajanarasimha said, “Rao had on his own issued statements on merger and alliance. Now, he is retracting his own statements and is trying to cheat the people. The TRS is an epitome of deception and betrayal.”
“Rao is trying to project himself as the hero of Telangana while ignoring the sacrifices of Telangana martyrs. People will teach him a fitting lesson in the ensuing elections,” he thundered. His colleague Shabbir Ali branded KCR a ‘habitual liar.’