HYDERABAD/WARANGAL: Telangana Congress leaders, who had helped the Congress and JD(S) MLAs from Karnataka stay in Hyderabad on Friday, on Saturday expressed happiness over the way Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa resigned from the top post before facing trust vote in the Assembly.
TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy described the developments in Karnataka as a great victory for democracy. "I salute the MLAs of Congress and JD (S) for saving democracy. They did not get lured by sops offered by the BJP nor did they feel intimidated. By reducing Yedurappa to "Ek Din ka Sultan", they defeated the wrong aspirations and ambitions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah to grab power at all costs," Uttam said.
Upbeat over the development in Karnataka, Uttam claimed that the failure of BJP to form government in Karnataka would boost the morale of the party in Telangana and make its determination to capture power in the state firmer. "The developments in Karnataka will certainly help us strengthen Congress in Telangana. This is the beginning of Congress' victory in 2019 elections," he said.
Speaking to reporters before taking part in the Praja Chaitanya Bus Yatra in Warangal, the TPCC chief claimed that Karnataka's development was a moral victory for the Congress.
TPCC working president Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said the victory had provided the much-needed impetus to TPCC leadership. "The mood is upbeat among leaders and workers in Telangana also. This has increased confidence among our workers that we will be forming the next government," he said.
Party leaders J Geetha Reddy, Marri Sashidhar Reddy, Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy and Sarve Satyanarayana said that despite the fact that BJP did not have the numbers to form government in Karnataka, it had staked to do so. "The BJP even tried to purchase MLAs from other parties. The defeat of BJP is the victory of the democracy," the said. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah should accept that they cannot stop AICC president Rahul Gandhi from becoming prime minister," they commented.
Earlier, Congress cadres celebrated the resignation of Yeddyurappa by distributing sweets and busting crackers at TPCC headquarters, Gandhi Bhavan, here.