HYDERABAD: Stating that the Congress Disciplinary Committee had not taken any decision yet, the panel’s chairman Mallu Ravi said on Saturday that he was of the view that, as a minister, Konda Surekha should at least have condemned her daughter’s remarks against Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.
Ravi, however, made it clear that the committee was not rushing into a decision, saying all complaints, evidence and explanations would be examined before the panel reached a conclusion. “We will follow the principles of natural justice,” he said, after the committee meeting at Gandhi Bhavan.
The Surekha issue was among several matters that came up for discussion. The committee examined her written explanation as well as videos of her daughter Sushmita Patel’s remarks, which Ravi described as inappropriate and said had treated the chief minister “like an ordinary individual”. Several MLAs have also indicated that they would submit complaints, he said, and these would be considered before the committee takes a call.
For now, the committee appears to be keeping its options open. Surekha, Ravi said, had maintained that she had nothing to do with her daughter’s remarks.
Her explanation would be considered along with the other material before a decision is taken.
The same approach is being applied to Munugode MLA Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy. No complaint has been received against him so far, Ravi said, though the committee was examining whether the matter should be taken up suo motu. “We will follow due procedure,” he said.
The panel has also looked at the press conference held by a group of MLAs at the CLP office, where action was sought against Surekha, Rajgopal and Planning Board Vice-Chairman G Chinna Reddy. Video footage of Chinna Reddy’s remarks was examined as part of the process.
In Chinna Reddy’s case, MLA T Megha Reddy has already lodged a complaint and the committee has examined the Planning Board vice-chairman’s explanation. But the matter is not quite closed. Megha Reddy will be called again and his version recorded before the committee arrives at a decision.
Another case on the table is the dispute involving Congress leaders K Srinivas Reddy and Sanjeeva Reddy during a Political Affairs Committee meeting in Adilabad. Show-cause notices have already been issued, while in-charge minister Jupally Krishna Rao has given his account of the episode. The committee has obtained his explanation and is expected to take a decision shortly.
Ravi also shed some light on the circumstances behind the suspension of party leader Jakkidi Prabhakar Reddy. He allegedly continued making inappropriate remarks against former MP Madhu Yaskhi Goud even after his suspension and also confronted Yaskhi’s supporters at Gandhi Bhavan. These developments, Ravi said, were among the reaso