NALGONDA: Warning that any “attempts by outsiders” to dominate Dalit constituencies will be strongly condemned and won’t be tolerated, Tungathurthi Congress MLA Mandula Samuel on Friday said that Roads & Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and Munugode MLA Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy have no moral right to comment on politics or governance in his constituency.
Addressing the media in Thirumalagiri, he termed Rajgopal’s recent comments on Tungathurthi as laughable.
“What business does the Munugode MLA have with my constituency?” Samuel wondered, while advising Rajgopal to focus on issues in his own segment.
He also warned that if attempts to encroach upon his rights continue, he will take up the issue with the party high command.
Taking a dig at Rajgopal, he said that the former, who could not even secure mandal party president posts for leaders who switched loyalties from the BJP to Congress along with him, has no right to speak about the Congress.
Accusing Komatireddy of breaching protocol in his constituency, Samuel threatened to lodge a formal complaint with the party high command.
Describing Nalgonda district as a land of struggles inhabited by hard-working people, he said that the only people he fears are the voters of Tungathurthi.
He declared that only the mandal Congress presidents appointed by TPCC chief Mahesh Kumar Goud would continue in the constituency and warned others against unnecessary interference in these appointments.
He also urged Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to allocate the two vacant ministerial berths to ST and Yadav leaders.
Won’t take Samuel’s criticism seriously, says Rajgopal
Responding to Samuel’s comments, Rajgopal said that he “won’t take Samuel’s criticisms seriously at all”. “I’ll leave the matter to Samuel’s own wisdom,” he added.
He called upon party leaders and workers not to worry about this issue and appealed to everyone to exercise restraint.
Rajgopal also recalled that Samuel had approached him multiple times requesting him to ensure that he gets the Tungathurthi Congress ticket.
Claiming that they played a crucial role in securing the ticket for Samuel and ensuring his victory in the elections, Rajgopal apologised to the people of Tungathurthi for “failing to provide them with the right representative”.