HYDERABAD: Unusual scenes were witnessed during the ongoing Assembly session when several BRS MLAs voiced their opinion that the new Congress government should be given at least a six-month grace period for implementation of the schemes it promised during elections.
This marked a dramatic shift of stance compared to the bitter election campaign, where leaders more often than not launched no-holds-barred attacks at each other. A case in point is former minister and Medchal MLA Ch Malla Reddy, who on Friday described Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy as his “best friend”.To give perspective to his relationship with Revanth, Malla Reddy recalled that both of them came from the TDP.
The same Malla Reddy, during the election campaign, had described Revanth as a “blackmailer” and alleged that the TPCC president threatened him regarding his medical college. On Thursday, the Medchal MLA said that the Congress government had no involvement in the case filed against him at the Shamirpet police station.
Six-month window
Likewise, LB Nagar MLA D Sudheer Reddy also said that the Congress government be given a six-month window to implement schemes. In a video statement, Sudheer Reddy warned that after the six-month deadline, he would champion the people’s cause against the Congress in case the government failed to implement its promises. In informal conversations, some MLAs revealed that they would rather adopt a wait-and-watch approach. Others were in favour of a strategic, issue-based approach, while another section said that they would remain silent unless specifically directed.
Most MLAs said that criticism for the sake of it was not the proper approach to get their Constituency Development Funds released. Meanwhile, Congress sources said that the party will not be open to welcoming Opposition MLAs in its fold till at least the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The sources said that this was despite some MLAs being ready to change sides. They said that Revanth too was not too keen on rushing to welcome MLAs into the Congress fold at this point in time.